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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26451307">The Hunter and the Hunted</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lailuva/pseuds/Lailuva'>Lailuva</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adorable Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Bounty Din, Cara is an emotionally constipated moron, Din really isn't any better, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Non Mandalorian Din Djarin, Slow Burn, because AUs can't change things like that, bounty hunter Cara, morons to lovers, this fic does not involve people handling their feelings like rational adults</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:29:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>38,763</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26451307</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lailuva/pseuds/Lailuva</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cara Dune prefers to keep her life simple.  Catch bounties as Greef Karga’s top hunter, get paid, avoid the Empire and memories of Alderaan as much as she can.  When she’s offered a commission to hunt down a Tatooine mechanic named Din Djarin and the Imperial asset he stole, she decides the money is good enough to ignore the Imperial connections just this once.  Just one quick and easy job, and then she’s rich.  But Cara is about to find this hunt far more challenging than she ever could’ve anticipated...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) &amp; Din Djarin &amp; Cara Dune, Cara Dune/The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>233</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>255</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKeeperofBabyYoda/gifts">TheKeeperofBabyYoda</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So TheKeeperOfBabyYoda and I have been batting around various Mandalorian ideas and she threw out the idea of Cara being the bounty hunter hired to track down Din the bounty.  We kept talking about it and the more we did the more I really wanted to write the fic.  So here we are, and a big thank you to her for inspiring me!  (And for getting me on board the Din/Cara ship.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Ah!  My most valuable hunter!”  Greef Karga beamed at the aforementioned bounty hunter as she walked into his cantina and up to his usual table.  “What have you brought me this time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara Dune unhooked her blaster rifle from her shoulder harness before sliding into the seat across from him.  She tossed down the three fobs in her hand.  “All my commissions.  As usual.”  She grinned.  “Most are even in one piece this time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greef raised an eyebrow.  “They were all supposed to be delivered alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax,” said Cara, leaning back in the booth and accepting her customary drink the bartender droid offered her.  “They’re all in carbonite, safe and sound on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Greef motioned to one of his goons, who left to take the bounties off the ship.  “Can’t believe that piece of junk still flies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No insulting my </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> said Cara.  “She’s one of a kind.”  She tapped on the table.  “And don’t think you’ll distract me from my credits either.  Pay up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greef pulled several chits from his jacket and tossed them on the table.  Cara narrowed her eyes.  “Fuck your Imperial credits.  You know I don’t take those.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They spend,” said Greef.  “What else matters?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Imperial credits gleamed bright in the cantina’s lights.  Bright as Alderaan bursting into flame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said, fuck them,” said Cara steadily.  “Pay me with something else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re what I’ve got,” said Greef.  “Take it or leave it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara reached for the fobs but Greef stopped her.  “Come on, Cara,” he said.  “You know I always try to pay you with something else.  But this is what I have right now.  You know Hrerri down the street will give you a fair exchange rate for them.  Just take the pay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara’s lip curled, but she forced out “Fine” and snatched the credits.  It felt like they were burning her hand, but she knew that was her imagination.  She gulped down her drink to numb the sensation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greef was watching her with some weird look in his eye.  “Spit it out,” Cara snapped.  “Why the fuck do you only have Imperial credits, anyway?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greef glanced to the side before leaning in.  “I’m commissioning hunters on behalf of an… anonymous client.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara raised an eyebrow.  “Just say it’s a fucking Imperial bounty.  I’m not interested.  I don’t take their commissions and you know that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  Just hear me out.”  Greef pulled a puck from his jacket and slid it to the middle of the table, where it flickered to life and displayed the face of a human man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara didn’t recognize him, and he didn’t look like much either.  Scruffy dark curls over a decent enough face, pretty ordinary looking.  Definitely not one that screamed Empire’s Most Wanted.  She snorted when she read the name.  “Din Djarin, huh.  Never heard of him.  What, did he take some Moff’s lunch money?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Much more,” said Greef.  “He was hired as an outside contractor, a ship mechanic, at an Imperial base on Tatooine.  After one day of work, he broke into their compound and stole a valuable asset.  He’s been on the run since.  The bounty is for him and the asset, returned alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care about Imperial assets.”  She shoved the puck back to Greef.  “Let him run.  He’s not worth it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was halfway out of the booth when Greef said, “One million credits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Imperial credits, I understand.  But they still spend.”  Greef clacked the puck on the table.  “Turns out he’s been quite the challenging quarry.  They asked me to commission all my best hunters and I agreed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara didn’t turn around.  She told herself it was because she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction and not because she couldn’t stop rolling around the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>one million credits</span>
  </em>
  <span> in her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re one of my best,” said Greef.  “And he’s been on the run for months by now.  Evaded everything the Imperials threw at him.  He’d be a challenge.  A real notch on your belt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, he knew how to push her buttons.  She turned, but snorted and pointed at the puck.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> a mastermind stealing from and evading Imperial forces?  Yeah right.  They’re just incompetent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greef motioned her over, and reluctantly she sat back down.  Greef leaned in.  “I didn’t tell the Imps this,” he said.  “Professional obligation.  But I’m telling you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and your dramatics.  Spit it out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know him,” said Greef.  “Met just once, a few years ago, when I was bounty hunting under the Guild branch on Tatooine.  Another hunter hired him for extra muscle.  They were bringing in a live bounty who tried to escape.  Djarin took him down before any of us could even blink.  Guild spent months trying to recruit him.  Never saw him in action myself, but my buddies said he could shoot and spar as well as anyone.  Picked up extra credits in any fighting ring or muscle job he came across.  But never stuck with any group, just stayed in Mos Eisley doing mechanic work.”  Greef motioned at the image of the puck, still just a deceptively innocent, ordinary man.  “He broke into an Imperial fortress and stole an asset they’re willing to pay one million credits for </span>
  <em>
    <span>by himself.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Don’t underestimate him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara stared at the image, but Din Djarin remained inscrutable.  “Know any weaknesses?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adoptive mother on Tatooine,” said Greef Karga.  “But you have to be delicate with that one.  Apparently Djarin did enough work for the Hutts he called in favors to get her their protection.  Even the Imps couldn’t touch her.  Every hunter I talked to said she just gave them misleading information.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can make people talk,” said Cara.  “What’s his fight style?  Ranged?  Close-up?  Ambush?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything,” said Greef.  He glanced around before leaning in further, and said in a low voice, “I don’t know the story or anything.  But he fights like a Mandalorian.  Maybe ask your big blue friend about him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fights like a Mandalorian.  Cara knew what that meant.  Skilled in multiple fighting styles.  No surrender, no quarter to be given.  A true challenge, way more than any stupid bail jumper she’d gone after lately.  It’d been too long and she was itching for a good fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Imperial credits…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, she told herself.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>One million</span>
  </em>
  <span> Imperial credits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Enough to quit hunting and retire.  Enough to find herself some stupid backwater with no snow-capped mountains or tall beautiful buildings or lush green trees.  Enough to pay someone to scratch the Rebel tattoos off her skin so that she never had to hide them with her sleeves or makeup again.  Enough to buy herself as many drinks and companionship as she needed to erase the sight of her planet exploding into flame until she never saw it again when she closed her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She snatched the puck from the table.  “I’ll take the job.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Din Djarin slunk into the abandoned building, out of the city’s prying eyes and away from the steady rain.  Finally, he could push the hood away from his head and pull the scarf from his face and let the very faint breeze ruffle his hair and cool his skin; finally, he could sit down after a long, long day of staying on the move throughout town to make sure he wasn’t being followed.  But more importantly, he could set down the pack on his back and let the little occupant out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you go,” he said, pulling out the tiny green child and setting him out on the ground.  “Told you it wouldn’t be for too long, didn’t I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid looked up at him and cooed, ears perked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Couldn’t have that Rodian at the meat stall spot you, could we?”  Din dug in the pack and pulled out the package he’d purchased, tugging out a strip of dried meat and handing it to the child.  “There you go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid squealed with excitement, immediately trying to stuff the whole thing in his mouth.  “No.  Chew,” Din ordered, taking it back and tearing the strip into smaller chunks.  The kid whined, reaching out with grabby hands, but quieted as soon as Din gave him a piece to gulp down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These aren’t frogs,” Din said.  “You have to chew these.  I think.”  He knew about as much about the child’s biology as he did that fateful day he took a wrong turn in that Imperial compound and found the crying, whimpering child trapped in a cage.  He hadn’t known what it was or why it was there.  All he knew was that something bad was going on, and after one pleading look from those huge brown eyes he couldn’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>leave</span>
  </em>
  <span> the kid there.  He’d gone home after his shift as an extra hired mechanic, armed himself with everything he owned, and taken the child out of there.  His mom had reamed him, telling him it was stupid, but one look at the kid and she’d softened and understood.  Something so small and innocent didn’t deserve whatever fate the Imperials had planned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d hugged him so tightly before he left, taking the kid off-planet to evade the Imperial forces starting to pour through the Mos Eisley streets.  “Guess we both like picking up strays,” she’d whispered in his ear.  “You take care.  Be safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You too, Momma,” he’d told her.  He missed her so much.  Leaving her was the only thing he really regretted about going on the run.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But when he looked at the little green child, cheeks stuffed full of meat, beaming and happy, he knew he’d done the right thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we call home?  Check in on Momma?” Din asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid chirruped agreeably so Din pulled out his holocomm, tampered with within an inch of its life by him and his mom to make it virtually untraceable.  He still didn’t use it much, but he’d already arranged for transport off this planet in a few hours in exchange for his mechanic skills, and he never actually called and talked to his mom either.  Instead he punched in the frequency of one of the guards he’d hired.  Working as extra muscle for the Hutts was usually a slimy job, but it had netted him enough favors to cash in when he’d had to run to make sure his mom stayed safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The eternally grumpy face of the Nikto Abnar flickered into view.  “The sand dunes are blown high today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re low here,” said Din, returning with the all-clear code.  The child cooed curiously and blew a raspberry, spraying crumbs and slobber over Din’s pants.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She is safe,” said Abnar without preamble.  “Only one hunter in the last week.  Young, human, stupid.  She ran him off.  Our assistance was not needed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din chuckled.  “Sounds about right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two more hunters we escorted out, and three Imperial spies since your last contact.  The hunters moved on.  We dumped the spies’ remains in Beggar’s Canyon.  And the Imperials still do not come openly since the last incident.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that him?” crackled another voice over the comm.  “Is that Din?!  Let me see my boy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din suppressed a chuckle as Abnar was unceremoniously shoved out of the way, replaced by his mother.  “Hello, Momma.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Din!”  She shoved her shock of wild curls out of her face, narrowing her eyes at him.  “You look thinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re eating, Momma, see?”  Din waved one of the pieces of dried meat at the holocomm before putting it in his mouth for her benefit.  “We’re doing fine.  Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m okay!”  She crossed her arms stubbornly.  “These knuckleheads threaten anyone who gets within ten meters of me.  It’s getting me great deals in the market.  You’re the one on the run, how are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always on the move.  But we’re doing fine.”  Din reached out for the child, who was starting to follow a bug crawling on the floor.  “Come here, you.  Come say hi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He scooped up the child to get in range of the camera.  The child instantly giggled with delight, reaching out to try and snatch the glowing blue image over the holocomm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s my little womp rat!” she cooed.  “You taking care of my big womp rat for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Momma,” grumped Din, rolling his eyes as the baby babbled happily at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lookit those big eyes,” she continued.  “Just like yours when I found you raiding my hangar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Momma.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been one minute,” said Abnar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fine,” she said; she knew as well as Din that one minute was enough time for trackers to have a much better chance of latching on despite the encryption.  “You two be safe, you hear?  I ran off this young idiot but hunters are still coming and pestering me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din frowned.  “You be safe.  Stay in as much as you can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These oversized rontos are keeping an eye on me,” said his mom, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder at the guards.  “You worry about yourself.  Stay safe, you hear?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din smiled.  “Yes, Momma.”  The child squealed, waving his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t call if it’s not safe.  But when you can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will.  Be careful yourself.”  Din ended the call before he gave into the temptation to talk to his mom more.  He couldn’t endanger her, no matter how much he missed her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din tucked the holocomm away and turned around to find the little green child with his head in the meat package.  “Hey!” he said, pulling him out and earning a disappointed chirr.  “That’s gotta last us, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child cooed, before pulling a chunk of meat out of his mouth and offering it to Din.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m good,” said Din.  “But thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made sure the kid wasn’t going to choke before getting himself some food and repacking the dried meat where his little one couldn’t get it.  He counted the credits he had, chewing on his own meal and keeping an eye on the kid.  Being on the run was far from ideal, but he had money, he had a job lined up that would help him planet hop again, and so far no hunter that had actually caught up to him had survived the encounter and most didn’t make it close enough to get him since his mother was giving them bad info every time they talked to her.  So far, being on the run from the Empire hadn’t been so bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched the child growl and gnaw on a particularly tough bite, adorable brown eyes crossing with the effort.  Din smiled.  For this one’s sake, he hoped it stayed that way.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hopefully y'all like it so far! It's a challenge for my canon compliant gen fic writer little heart (and my first Cara/Din fic) but I'm enjoying it SO much already. I love the challenge of bringing everyone in, just in a different way that still makes sense, so keep an eye out for the other characters. They're gonna show up.</p><p>    I don't have a buffer so there will be no regular update schedule just FYI.</p><p>    GlamorousGamine requested on my last fic to keep the Baby Yoda Commentary going so:<br/>    "Dad I am HUNGRY"<br/>    "Chewing is for LEWZERS"<br/>    "Hi Dad's Mom! Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on him."<br/>    Just in general, as far as Baby's concerned, he's won the lottery. Who cares that he's on the run? Instead of being in a cage, terrified and tortured, he gets to spend all day with the BEST DAD EVER going to new and exciting places!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is just another bounty hunt.  But it's already costing Cara more than she expected.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Cara’s big blue friend was at Hrerri’s too when she went to exchange her Imperial credits.  Hrerri skimmed a cut for himself off the top, he always did, but at least the druggats he gave her weren’t Imperial and would spend throughout the Outer Rim.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her friend hung around in the shop, pretending to check out the wares, like they usually did whenever they ran into each other in public like this.  Cara ignored him, waiting for him to follow her out like he’d casually decided to leave, before they each turned down the alleys that reconnected a good distance away, out of sight of prying eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look tense, Cara,” said the massive blue-armored Mandalorian, crossing his arms as he stared down at her.  “You looking for a rematch?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds fun, Paz, but no,” said Cara.  “I was hoping to run into you.  I need info.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The helmet tilted at her; Cara was used enough to its implacable face to read the hesitation there.  “What?” she asked impatiently.  “I’ll fight you for it if you want, and I’ll kick your ass this time too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Paz still said nothing, but reached out and snatched the puck from her belt and activated it.  “You’re after Din Djarin,” he said flatly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Paz all but growled.  “This is an </span>
  <em>
    <span>Imperial</span>
  </em>
  <span> commission, Cara.  Did Karga tell you that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her throat tightened, but with Paz she wouldn’t lie.  “Yes.  I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you still took it!”  For a moment Cara thought Paz would crush the puck in his fist, but he roughly thrust it back at her instead and she barely caught it.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You</span>
  </em>
  <span> took an Imperial job!  Why?!  How could you do that?!  After what the Empire did to -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One million credits,” Cara cut him off before he could name her homeworld.  “That’s why.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Paz loomed over her, but Cara refused to back down.  “One million credits is enough for you to sell yourself to them?” Paz sneered.  “I’d thought you were better than that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara looked steadily into the implacable black T-visor.  “I was told Djarin has ties to the Mandalorians.  Do you know him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t matter,” said Paz roughly, turning away.  “I wouldn’t tell you anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that’s a yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Paz rounded back on her so fast Cara almost pulled out her blaster.  “I was at the covert on Tatooine when it was attacked.  He was lost then; we thought he was one of the dead.  They killed many of our foundlings.  The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Imperials</span>
  </em>
  <span> did that, Cara.  You know as well as I do that if the Empire wants your people dead, it will happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara glared back.  “And what could your covert do with one million credits?  A lot, that’s what.  You’re telling me you wouldn’t take this job?  Turn in one man to finance dozens more of your people?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” said Paz.  “And I’m curious what your people would say about you doing it, if they could speak.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara clenched her fists, feeling nails digging into her palms.  “I was thinking of hiring you as extra muscle.  Give you a cut of the money, make sure it goes somewhere besides buying me drinks.  But I’ve changed my mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck your pity,” said Paz.  “Even if the covert was down to its last crumb, I wouldn’t buy food with Djarin’s blood.  And fuck you for being willing to do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara ground her teeth, biting back the anger boiling up.  She couldn’t afford to fight Paz angry.  “I told you.  One million credits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then you’re not the woman I thought you were.  We’re done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”  Cara turned, stomping away, but stopped at the click of a weapon arming and the feel of a blaster against the back of her neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The covert.  Did you tell the Imperials?  Or Karga?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara swallowed against the tightening in her throat.  “You really think I would?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tight feeling wouldn’t go away.  She closed her eyes, but all she saw was fire and exploding rock, so she opened them again.  “No.  I haven’t had any contact with the Imperials.  I wouldn’t tell them.  I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I don’t even know where it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know it exists.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t tell them anything, Paz.  I swear.”  She swallowed.  “On Alderaan, I swear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t mean much to you, does it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara tried to say something in her own defense, but her throat wasn’t processing speech anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were friends for years.  For that, I’ll let you go this time.  But if you lead anyone to the covert, I’ll kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara stared straight ahead.  “Fair.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blaster lifted away from her neck.  By the time Cara slowly turned, Paz was already gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed, trying to numb herself to the regret.  She wished she hadn’t asked Paz at all; she wouldn’t if she’d known he would react this badly.  She’d known him for almost as long as she’d been a hunter; he was a Guild member too and they had teamed up several times to take on difficult commissions.  Paz had even saved her life; she’d been all but dead that time a bounty got the drop on her and he’d dragged her to the Mandalorian covert to have one of their medics patch her up.  He’d told her she was the only outsider on Nevarro who knew the covert existed, although thanks to the metric ton of painkillers she’d been given during her stay and a blindfold on her trip out, she truly had no idea where it was.  She’d never betrayed the covert’s existence to anyone and even gave Paz a higher cut of her bounties sometimes, since he told her he was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>beroya</span>
  </em>
  <span> who supported them.  But that didn’t matter now.  Years of friendship down the drain, all over one bounty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, not a bounty.  One million credits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It would be worth it.  It had to be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was better to be in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Cara had weapons and data to organize and tend to, and the engine’s loud pre-Empire growl combined with the work of preparing for a hunt was great for drowning out thoughts.  Course was set for Tatooine, so now Cara was sprawled in the pilot’s seat, going over what information she had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greef had programmed this puck with more than the usual basic info for her, so Cara idly cycled through it again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>First was Din Djarin’s face, accompanied by his name and the beautiful price on his head.  There was no image on the asset, or any description, just the fact that Djarin apparently still had it.  Cara hoped he hadn’t hidden it or dropped it already; she had no doubt she wouldn’t get much without it.  Everyone acted like the man before her was a dangerous killer, but a run through the Holonet just got her a single mention of a simple Tatooine mechanic.  Once she found him, he couldn’t be that hard to take down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cycled to the next piece of information, her only lead:  another Tatooine mechanic named Peli Motto.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another human, a woman this time, still perfectly ordinary looking and nothing dangerous about her at all.  Hutt guards were nothing to sneeze at, especially on Tatooine where the slugs ruled supreme, but Cara was confident she could sweet talk, intimidate, or fight anyone in whatever order she needed to.  The woman was apparently a Tatooine native, so she’d probably be more responsive to straight talk.  Cara skimmed the other reports in the Guild files and found Motto was happy to talk to hunters, but was clearly trying to direct them away from her wayward son.  There was plenty of contradictory information on where he’d gone, what he was doing, and what this asset was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What was this asset, anyway?  Maybe a weapon.  Imperials liked their weapons.  And it would explain why Djarin had such an inexplicable reputation for evading hunters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, Cara had fought plenty of weapons and beat them all.  Even fought a fully armed, huge Mandalorian to a standstill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thinking about Paz soured her mood.  Cara slammed the puck unnecessarily hard to turn it off, and leaned back in the pilot’s seat to try and catch some sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as soon as she closed her eyes, all she could see was Alderaan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara cursed and headed below.  She was pretty sure she still had some of that shitty synth-liquor below.  A few of those would put her right out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tatooine was the same ugly dustball it always was.  Cara didn’t mind.  She never liked landing on lush, green planets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She purposely landed in a bay a few down from where Motto worked.  No sense in risking her ship being tampered with.  Much as she loved it, she had to admit it probably wouldn’t take much anyway.  She cycled the lock sequence with a fresh code, tipped the mechanic extra to leave it alone and make sure it stayed left alone by others, made sure her weapons were easily accessible and her tattoos were covered by a sleeve and a swipe of the dark face paint she wore under her eyes, and headed to Bay 3-5.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pair of Nikto were at the entrance, armed and marked with Hutt insignia.  They both gave her bored looks.  “Go away, hunter,” said the taller one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to talk to Motto,” said Cara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could shoot you,” offered the shorter Nikto.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara grinned. “I’d love to see you try.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Nikto huffed and looked at each other, but finally the tall one gestured her close. “No weapons. And we search you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Cara had assumed this would happen and had packed light. She unholstered the blaster at her hip and unsheathed the knife on her belt before letting one Nikto take them and the other pat her down. They were thorough, taking her timer bombs and spare knife in her boot and the pouch of poison vials, but they missed the tiny holdout blaster tucked in the inside pocket of her jacket. People usually did.  She just smiled pleasantly at the Nikto guards and let them escort her in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mechanic was inside, surrounded by a gaggle of pit droids and cursing at some dingy freighter parked in her hangar.  “The motivator’s completely shot.  Go and tell him, will you?  And tell him I’m not doing a thing for it until he comes up with more credits!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the pit droids hopped up, but jumped down flat at the sight of Cara, buzzing in alarm.  Cara ignored it, walking forward, the guards close behind.  She stopped a few feet away from the mechanic, who didn’t bother looking at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara cleared her throat.  The mechanic still didn’t bother looking over, swiping her shock of curls from her head and leaving behind a grease stain.  Cara gritted her teeth and reminded herself she had to play nice, because Guild members weren’t supposed to harass people under Hutt protection, especially on a Hutt-controlled world like Tatooine.  “Peli Motto.  I’d like to speak to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Din Djarin is my adoptive son.  Found him raiding my hangar, adopted him, I’m your one connection, yes.”  Peli stomped away from Cara, digging around in her toolbox without paying any attention to the bounty hunter trying to intimidate her.  “Yes, he stole some asset from the Imperial compound in Mos Eisley, no I don’t know what it is or where he’s gone.  He took a shuttle headed for Sullust and from there, I don’t know.  He doesn’t contact me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I find that hard to believe,” said Cara, watching Peli closely but failing to find any sort of tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So did I.  I only fed and clothed him for over a decade.”  Peli waved a hydrospanner in Cara’s direction.  “There, I gave you your info.  Get out of my hangar, I’ve got work to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never saw that asset?” asked Cara.  “You don’t know what it is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peli shrugged.  “Nope.  Ask the Imperials, it’s theirs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No point in interviewing bucketheads.  I’d hoped you’d be more reasonable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, get out of my hangar.  I have real work to do instead of chatting with bounty hunters.”  Peli turned away and back to the freighter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara gave her a chance to cooperate before asking again, “Where’s Din Djarin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you.  He went to Sullust.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would he go to Sullust?  The air is toxic, so he’d have to stay in the underground cities.  Harder to flee when your options to run are limited.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara watched Peli hesitate for a fraction of a second before saying, “It was probably a stop on the way.  Sullust was all he said to me before he left.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With the asset?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you stupid?  He went to all that trouble to get it, why wouldn’t they both go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The look in Peli’s eyes told Cara they had both realized the slip as soon as Peli had said it.  “So you have seen the asset,” said Cara.  “What is it?  Or, </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get out of my hangar,” said Peli with a snarl, and she nodded at the Nikto.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second Cara felt a hand touch her arm she grabbed the offender and threw him into the other guard, bowling them both over and giving the closer one a hard kick for good measure.  They were already recovering, pulling out blasters, but Cara got hers out first, and two shots took care of the both of them.  She snorted.  Hutts always paid for intimidation over skill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara turned the blaster over on Peli.  “Let’s try this again.  Where is Din Djarin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mechanic had at least lost that maddeningly indifferent look, her hands raised in the air and her pit droids cowering behind her.  “I don’t know,” she said as the pit droids scattered for cover.  “You think he tells me?  I have no idea where he went.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like you said,” said Cara.  “You really expect me to believe a grateful adopted son doesn’t call the mother he loves enough to buy Hutt guards for, even on an encrypted channel?”  She motioned the blaster.  “Let’s check your holoterminal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peli went, Cara right behind her with the blaster ready.  “They’ve got trackers on them, you know,” said Peli.  “Reinforcements are gonna show up.  And your Guild buddies aren’t gonna be happy with you either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They never are.”  Cara pressed her blaster against Peli’s back as they stopped at the dingy, well-used holoterminal at the edge of the hangar.  “No tricks.  Just bring up your messages.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”  Peli punched in a code, and a series of glowing messages appeared, the aurebesh slightly fuzzy.  Lists of parts, work orders, money spent and collected, clients’ requests, nothing related to Djarin.  With her free hand, Cara flipped through them all, but found nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you,” said Peli.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then tell me more,” said Cara, not bothering to hide her irritation.  “Who’s the asset?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>give me any bullshit about not seeing them.  What are they?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know!”  Peli waved her hands before freezing again.  “I’ve never seen the species before…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara cursed.  She certainly believed Djarin wasn’t telling his mother where he was, especially since he probably knew about all the hunters talking to her.  And Cara had maybe five more minutes before Hutt reinforcements figured out she’d killed the two guards and sent backup.  She glanced around, searching for something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> that might lead her to Djarin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A glint of silver caught her eye, and she saw a holocomm had fallen out of one of the Nikto’s jackets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She dragged Peli over to the Nikto’s corpse.  “Pick it up.  Give it to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peli obeyed, and Cara fumbled it on as best she could while keeping the blaster pressed to Peli’s back.  The comm whined in protest; part of it was dented, presumably by the Nikto’s fall.  But at least Cara got it fired up and blue images fritzed their way through, garbled voices in Basic and Huttese coming out of the tinny speaker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara cursed and shook it.  More images, a Rodian, a Twi’lek woman, another Nikto, a Weequay, a human man and some alien -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara glanced to make sure Peli wasn’t trying anything before manipulating the controls one-handed.  They weren’t meant for human users, but she got the images to cycle back to the human man and the strange alien.  It was fuzzed on the edges, flickering obnoxiously, but that was definitely Djarin.  She didn’t recognize the strange alien.  With its huge dark eyes, wrinkled face, and oversized ears, it was simultaneously the cutest and ugliest thing she’d ever seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is that?” she asked, jabbing the comm under Peli’s nose.  “Is that the asset?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her silence was enough confirmation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Cara asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” said Peli.  “He just said it was a kid.  He told me the Imps were holding a kid in a cage and he couldn’t stand for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why the hell did the Imps have that kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peli shrugged helplessly.  “Who knows?  They’re as bad as the Hutts.  Stomping over any of us regular people who get in their way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara could only stare at the tiny alien child.  Well, at least this would make her job easier.  A child wasn’t a weapon Djarin could turn against her.  If she caught it first, she could even use it to make sure he stayed cooperative.  Once she found him, the job should go easily enough.  She’d traced back enough holocomms in her day, and this one was already cheap enough before it had been compromised.  She had the right equipment on board the Crest.  This should be enough of a lead to track down Djarin and the asset.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She made her blaster click, just for the extra intimidation, before telling Peli, “This’ll do.  No need for any more trouble, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” said Peli shakily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara still kept the blaster in her hand as she headed for the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” called Peli.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara turned swiftly, blaster ready; Peli flinched but stood her ground.  “Do you have to take the comm?” Peli asked.  “The Imps, when they first raided my place they took all my recent holos.  I don’t have any of him anymore…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara stared.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> was what Peli wanted?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please,” said Peli.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” said Cara, and before she thought better of it, “Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was about to walk away when Peli spoke again.  “It really is a kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” asked Cara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The asset.  It’s just a kid.  A little kid.”  Peli shrugged.  “You’re the first one to see it since the Imps.  They kept asking me why he took it.  Because it’s a little kid.  It didn’t belong in that lab.  Nothing good would come of bringing it back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara just turned away.  Just a woman trying to persuade her not to bring in her son.  She wasn’t the first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mechanically, Cara found her ship and fired it up, eager to be in hyperspace by the time the Hutt guards figured out what had happened.  She tried not to listen to the voice in her head asking why Imperials would want a child, and what they might be planning to do with it, and how many children they’d already killed on Alderaan or the Mandalorian covert Paz had told her about or anywhere else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One million credits, she told herself.  One million credits.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Is it bad I actually kind of like writing Asshole Trying So Hard Not To Care Cara?  Come on, Cara, let the character development flow through you!  (She will......eventually.)</p><p>Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  Din will show up again soon enough...</p><p>Edit:  Whoops forgot the essential Baby Yoda Commentary!  But since he only cameos in this chapter, his only comment far away is "Dad, I've got a bad feeling about this."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cara locates her quarry.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The holocomm was pretty well-encrypted, and the call itself had been bounced through multiple channels, but Cara’s slicing equipment served her well.  The call had originated on the small moon of Riadel, so that was where the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> went.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Cara forwarded the message back to the mechanic, she told herself it was only to ease Guild relations with the Hutts and so she wouldn’t get as much of an earful from Greef when she returned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was only one major spaceport on the moon, and it didn’t take her long to track down some grunt worker who had seen Djarin.  Apparently another hunter had already paid him for information and he was eager to collect more credits, so he happily told Cara that Djarin had booked passage on a shuttle for Mnad’el in exchange for his mechanic skills.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now the dusty golden orb of Mnad’el hovered in front of Cara’s viewport as she flew the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> in, eschewing the main spaceport in favor of the edges of the settlement the shuttle had reportedly gone to.  There was a wide open space that served as a public landing pad, and she settled the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> there, cycled the landing sequence, and went below to gear up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone acted like Djarin was some impossible deadly warrior, but Cara was not wasting her time lugging around extra gear she wouldn’t need.  He was a mechanic.  What was he going to do, repair her to death?  She preferred hitting from range when possible, so she took the blaster rifle.  Blaster pistol too, since it was her staple after the rifle, and the holdout blaster just in case.  Knife in her boot sheath, timer bomb just in case she needed to knock down some walls to get to or stop him, Stokhli stick to catch him if he bolted, and of course a few sedatives in case he was particularly troublesome.  She hated bounties that were loud or kept trying to make stupid escape attempts.  As usual her last step was making sure her arm tattoo was under her sleeve, and the Rebel Alliance symbol on her face was covered by a long swipe of dark face paint under her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The settlement she’d landed just outside of seemed ordinary enough, smaller than Mos Eisley but still decently sized and bustling with ordinary citizens just trying to go about their business.  Cara blended into the crowd as best she could, staying alert; the blaster rifle made it pretty clear she wasn’t just here to buy food.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She idled outside a cantina, listening to a gaggle of ship workers exchange the latest gossip.  Her ears practically perked up when she heard one claim a weird green alien had stowed aboard his shuttle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Too much Arbeli moonshine for you!” howled his companions, but the worker insisted he’d woken in his bunk to see a horrible little green gremlin with huge ears staring at him.  It had run away and no one had seen it since, even the mechanic they’d hired.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well that was enough confirmation for Cara.  Djarin had been this way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The market was too crowded to really get a good line on anyone and she didn’t want to spook him into running if he was still in the settlement.  Deciding not to interview the workers right now in case Djarin was still in contact with them, she instead circled around the flat desert buildings and found a back way up onto the rooftops.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was concealed enough up here, from the height and the fact that most of the roofs were open-air floors with low walls and hanging curtains around the edges she could lurk behind.  She carefully stalked along the main road, stopping occasionally when she found a real good vantage point.  Everyone here wore the kind of desert gear she’d expect a Tatooine native to wear.  She needed to see his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The buildings got higher, and Cara was finally forced to stop and resort to the scope on her blaster rifle instead.  She knelt on the edge, resting the barrel on the low wall around the roof, using it to scan the crowd.  Plenty of ordinary citizens and sketchier folk, an entire rainbow of species and colors before her.  Cara was never the most patient of people, but patience was critical at this stage of a hunt.  Carefully, she scanned everyone she could see, one by one, lingering over any human males she saw.  Many individuals were hooded against the desert heat, making it more difficult to see faces, and unless Djarin was particularly stupid, he had probably taken at least that precaution to disguise himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d scanned the whole crowd for what felt like hours when she caught a flash of green.  She readjusted her scope, and there she saw it - twin green ears poking up out of someone’s pack, followed quickly by a tiny wrinkly head.  The someone turned quickly, patting the green child back down, and the dark red hood slipped back just enough for Cara to see Djarin’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gotcha,” she whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carefully, she recalibrated the blaster rifle for a mid-range stun while keeping him in her scope.  She needed him knocked down but didn’t want to harm the asset if she could avoid it, and she had no idea how it would react to stun blasts.  She watched him wander through the market, pausing at a few stalls to buy food, which he carefully put away in the pack.  He paused each time to sling the pack off his back and pack it, presumably for the comfort of the asset hanging out inside.  Cara saw the green ears poke up again, but Djarin tucked them away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara watched through the scope, waiting for her best shot.  She preferred dropping bounties on the first shot when she could, and she had no idea how difficult the asset might be to wrangle.  She growled in irritation as people kept passing between her and Djarin; he was clearly smart enough to stay in a crowd.  But he slowed down by another stall, this one selling what looked like children’s toys.  If he bought something, he’d pause to pack it.  That’d be the best opportunity for a shot she’d get.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She watched closely as Djarin paused in front of the stall.  His back was still to her, and there was no sign he’d seen her.  One clear shot and she might be able to just snipe him now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once again, the two little ears popped out of the pack.  The asset scanned the crowd, and then looked directly at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, that was impossible.  She was well-hidden up here and it was a little child.  There was no way it understood what was happening.  It was still very unnerving.  Even if it was impossible, it felt like the asset was </span>
  <em>
    <span>glaring</span>
  </em>
  <span> at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a momentary clear in the crowd.  Djarin turned slightly, perfectly lined up for a shot in his shoulder that would miss the asset and take him down.  Cara’s finger curled around the trigger.  She let out a breath and squeezed it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The asset thrust out a hand.  It suddenly felt like someone had punched her in her chest, and her shot went wide.  Cara swore and righted herself, realigning her scope just in time to see Djarin bolt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck!”  Cara leaped to her feet and ran after.  She could figure out whatever the hell just happened after she had him down and cuffed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The asset was poking out of his pack and between that and the reddish hood Djarin had, Cara kept track of them as she ran parallel on the roof to them on the road.  Townsfolk were screaming and scattering, spooked by the blast, and Djarin kept trying to duck in between them.  Cara wasn’t going to lose him.  She refused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin turned down an alley, away from her; he must’ve seen her on the roof.  Cara cursed but kept running forward, rocketing down the first staircase down she found and towards another alley, hoping to cut him off.  “Move!” she roared at the townsfolk in her way, shoving aside some bemused Ugnaught and a pair of chattering Jawas who didn’t scatter fast enough.  She raced into the alley, skidding to a halt in an intersection just in time to see a red scarf trailing around a corner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara pursued, pulling out her blaster pistol and setting it to stun.  Djarin turned one corner, and another, moving fast but leaving enough scuffs in the dirt for her to follow until Cara burst into a back courtyard of some sort, now empty of anyone including Djarin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara held her blaster at the ready, scanning the dusty stone ground.  No tracks or disturbances.  No evidence that Djarin had come here, even though she had seen him turn down the back alley that only led this way.  Which meant -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked up just in time to get his boot in her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara fell back, stumbling away and cursing and regaining her balance just in time for his fist to connect with her cheek.  Cara lashed out blindly, hitting what felt like a jaw, and barely managed to block another hit and another in rapid succession.  She kicked at his groin, earning a grunt as she connected with his leg, but when she tried to get in a shot he grabbed her arm, bowling her over and sending them both into the ground with his weight.  Cara hissed as a fist connected with her hand, forcing her to let go of her blaster.  She reached for it, but one of Djarin’s feet kicked it away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The motion meant his weight lifted off her just enough for her to throw him back.  She grabbed blindly, getting a fistful of cloth, and when he twisted away she grabbed another handful and threw him bodily at the wall.  Now she could see he’d ditched the pack somewhere, but before she could try and subdue him he launched himself at her again, pulling a vibroknife out of his sleeve.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara caught his wrist and stopped the blade from going into her throat but lost her balance, toppling over backwards.  She rolled out from under Djarin, forced to let go, but finally punched him upside the head, making him stagger and curse and giving Cara the chance to kick the knife out of his hand.  Cara lunged at him, but Djarin’s hand suddenly snaked up and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her into the wall behind her and squeezing tightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck,” croaked Cara, kicking out desperately, but Djarin dodged and instead punched her in the face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her vision went black for a second and Cara tasted dirt and opened her eyes to see Djarin with his knife jumping down on her.  Cara shoved his arm away at the last second, punching him in the gut and grabbing his leg, finally rolling on top of him and pinning him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was just about to break that stupid nose when suddenly his legs hooked under hers and the whole world spun as she was flipped onto her back, her eyes barely catching the green of a curious little alien staring at her with what was almost a </span>
  <em>
    <span>smug</span>
  </em>
  <span> expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next thing she saw was Djarin’s fist, and then black.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stared at her face in the mirror.  Her nose was bloody and possibly broken, a huge black eye was blooming so large she might not even need makeup to cover her Alliance tattoo, she was bruised to hell over her entire body, and none of it stung as bad as the walk of shame she’d had to endure back to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  She’d lost to bounties before.  But never this bad.  And never to a scrawny little mechanic.  At least she finally believed what people were saying about him being as skilled a fighter as a Mandalorian.  No wonder Peli Motto was handing out information; she probably believed that no one would ever catch him even if she did accidentally lead any hunters to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only upside was that she must’ve spooked him pretty bad if he presumably ran immediately instead of finishing her off.  She wasn’t sure how long she had been out, but she had no doubt Djarin was already hopping to the next planet.  Some questioning should help her figure out where he went.  At least the display in the market should up her intimidation factor to anyone she questioned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From there it could get trickier.  She’d revealed herself and given Djarin a sample of her fighting style.  He’d be more alert for an ambush from now on.  It was time to start pulling favors and talking to her contacts.  She’d built a decent network after years of hunting and knew people throughout the Outer Rim.  If any of them saw Djarin, she’d know.  He wasn’t lost.  Just bought himself a little more time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara scrubbed gingerly at her face, trying to get more of the dried blood off.  This was just a setback.  She’d catch Djarin.  And then she’d finally get her one million credits.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Action scenes are haaaaaaaard.  But I did have fun making this a "reverse" version of their first fight in canon.</p>
<p>Baby Yoda Commentary:<br/>"I have a bad feeling about this.  I think someone's watching us, Dad."<br/>"Someone IS watching us, Dad!  Don't put me back in the pack!"<br/>"NOBODY POINTS A BLASTER AT MY DADA!!"<br/>"Serves you right.  Asshole."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A game of cat and mouse, with an increasingly angry cat and an increasingly desperate mouse.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Cara did not understand what was so hard about catching one damn mechanic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been weeks since her first encounter with Djarin and every one since had gone about as well as the first.  She tried ambushing him again, but once again the asset warned him she was there.  No matter how far away she stayed, somehow the karking creature always knew.  She bribed others to help her catch him, hem him in and delay him, but he always twisted out of her grasp like a wily nexu.  It didn’t matter whether it was an innocent-looking old lady she paid to stop him and try and chat with him about the cute child or the hulking Gamorrean she hired to charge him in the street or one of her usual contacts who would give her a head’s up when he was in their area.  He evaded them all and didn’t fall for their tricks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hand-to-hand he was more than a match for her.  Even when she did manage to successfully catch him off-guard, he met the attack readily, took her hits and gave as good as he got.  Cara had taken lots of punches in her life and it took a lot to shake her, but he hit like a charging reek when cornered.  It reminded her of Paz, although she refused to really think about him.  Even using the same tricks she’d used in the past to beat Paz didn’t work; Djarin was far too agile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Digging into her arsenal yielded no better results.  Any projectile she had he could get out of.  He twisted away from her Stokhli stick spray before it could harden.  Any blaster setting she used, stun or the one time she was pissed enough to set it high enough to kill, always seemed to miss.  A canister of stun gas thrown at his feet or the carbonite spray canister she shot at him seemed to flow around him like he was covered by some invisible shield.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She even spent an entire day on Almas carefully stalking him with rubber bullet projectiles in her slugthrower, waiting for the right moment to pop one in his ass, which she almost thought was a shame to ruin after staring at it all day and deciding it really wasn’t the worst thing she’d stared at through a scope for hours.  The yelp he made was immensely satisfying, as was the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to run far with the bruising that would leave - but not only did he escape the town and hitch a ride with some Jawas in their dunecrawler, after three days of trying to catch up with them she came back to find her ship stripped and had to barter off some of her supplies and almost all of her liquor stash to get the Jawas to give her her own parts back and replace them.  According to them, Djarin had told them where her ship was and that it was choice parts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara gritted her teeth as she watched the Jawas reassemble her ship.  When she caught Djarin, he was going to wish he was wanted dead instead of alive.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Din patted the child curled up on his chest.  “Shh, shh.  What’s gotten into you?”  He tried to tell himself they could sleep in this junkyard a few more hours.  But he’d figured out by now that if the kid was fussing, it was a bad idea to ignore it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The voice of the junkyard owner floated over the pile of scrap Din was sheltering behind.  “A human with a strange alien kid?  I just hired a temp mechanic for a few days with a weird green pet, but that’s all I can think of.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not a big deal.  Where is he?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din froze.  He knew that voice.  It was the hunter who caught him on Mnad’el.  She’d found him again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shushed the kid, bundling him into the makeshift sling he’d fashioned out of a spare blanket he’d stolen from the last shuttle he begged a ride on.  The pack his mom had made him had been lost last week, when the hunter had ripped it right off his back in an effort to grab him.  He was lucky the kid had somehow slipped out, otherwise he wasn’t sure the kid would still be with him.  It’d been so close.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He got the kid into the sling and patted his belt to make sure his credits and weapons were still attached, trying to ignore the growl of his stomach.  He’d just reprovisioned when he’d lost his pack.  Now most of the credits he’d had and the food he’d bought was gone.  But he’d figure it out, as long as he could stay out of this hunter’s grasp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din slipped away, one hand on the kid and his other on his blaster, circling and finding a vantage point on another building where he could look down.  It was her, the hunter with black paint under her eyes.  He watched her stalk around the spot he’d just been sleeping, tucked away between pieces of scrap.  She lingered a moment before setting off on the exact trail he’d taken to get away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din bolted, walking as fast as he could without being too conspicuous.  He had to get off-planet.  He’d learned from their last few encounters that leaving the planet entirely was the only way to shake the hunter for any length of time.  She’d chased him over half of Drengel when he’d decided to try and give her a slip in the cities, but every time he stopped to eat or rest she showed up again within a few hours.  His stomach growled again at the thought, but Din pushed his tired legs onward toward the shipyard.  There were lots of junkers and scrappers around who would hopefully give a mechanic a lift in exchange for some work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He kept close to the walls, glancing up anxiously.  If the kid hadn’t stopped her, that first shot she’d fired on Mnad’el would’ve taken him out.  And she had tried to ambush him multiple times since.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid whined, the claws plucking at his tunic.  “It’s okay,” Din whispered.  “I won’t let her get you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They made it to the shipyard.  Despite the late hour, it was plenty busy, and Din slipped between bustling workers and their ships before finding a likely-looking harried scrapper parked just outside a small, reasonably-fast-looking ship.  “Need a mechanic?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scrapper scowled at him.  “I need to get my work done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know tech,” said Din quickly.  “I can pick out the good stuff from the worthless stuff.  Make you more money.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh?  And what’s your angle?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din forced himself not to clutch at the bundle slung across his chest, the child mercifully keeping himself hidden for once.  “Need a ride.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scrapper raised his eyebrows.  “Where to?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wherever you’re going,” said Din with a shrug, trying not to appear to be in a hurry.  “Doesn’t matter where.  Just that it’s quiet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dunno,” said the scrapper.  “I got awful good ears.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din bit back a curse.  “I’m not gonna give you a big bribe so don’t even try it.  You gonna hire me or can I go find someone else to ask?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t give me that.  If I’m doing the hiring, I get to ask some questions,” snapped the scrapper.  “You know anything about Rishi tech?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cobbed-together pirate scrap, but if you mean the natives, they aren’t into tech,” said Din impatiently, trying to check his periphery without being obvious.  “Spare me the quiz, I know my stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know that,” huffed the scrapper.  “You familiar with Sullustan tech?   We’re supposed to be hitting up one of their ships next.  Wrecked in a navigation snafu, those ridiculous navicomputers from Bessel V are worthless pieces of junk -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was only the scrapper’s eyes flickering to look past Din that warned him in time.  Din dived aside just as a metal bolt thunked into the hull of the ship, the kid howling in protest as Din landed on him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scrapper sputtered in fury.  “My ship, Dune!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Be useful and grab him, will you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din leaped to his feet in time to feel hands closing on his hood, spinning him around to face the hunter.  She had some sort of new blaster - he swore she brought a new one every time she found him - that had a very unpleasant-looking metal bolt loaded into it and pointed at him.  “Get down,” the hunter told him.  “Put the asset on the ground.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid popped out of his sling then, growling angrily at the hunter.  He stuck out one hand, and Din felt a shiver in the air as the scrapper and the hunter were suddenly thrown back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t going to hesitate.  Clutching the child close, he bolted up the ramp and into the ship, but just as he hit the door controls, white-hot pain exploded in his leg.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din screamed but slammed the controls, ducking away from the opening and pulling himself along the wall while hobbling on his remaining working leg.  The kid was crying and screaming but Din knew he had one chance, and if he didn’t make it this would be the end of the line.  He could hear the scrapper and the hunter already attacking the door.  He threw himself into the pilot seat, fired the ship up, and slammed the controls forward.  The ship rocketed up and he didn’t stop until he saw the stars.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was when he finally looked down, and saw his entire leg was soaked with blood from an open wound that had gone straight through his entire leg.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid was tangled in the sling, crying desperately, but finally tore one arm out and reached down.  Before Din could stop the claws from touching his leg, the terrible pain was replaced by an eerie, pulling feeling, and Din watched as the skin knitted itself back together, good as new.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He barely caught the kid as he collapsed, unconscious, almost falling out of the sling.  “No wonder they want you, huh?” said Din quietly.  The kid whined in his sleep and Din rocked him quietly.  “I won’t let it happen, I won’t,” Din said softly, a vow he’d repeated over and over during their months on the run, ever since he saw the poor little child in an Imperial cage.  “I won’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But with this hunter… he was starting to doubt his ability to keep that promise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had no choice, though.  He had to keep moving and he had to ditch this ship as soon as he could.  He set a path through hyperspace, and hoped the hunter couldn’t follow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My </span>
  <em>
    <span>ship,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dune!  I help you and all I got was my fucking ship stolen -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh shut up, Varrin,” snapped Cara.  “I paid you enough to fix whatever that bolt did to it, and if you activate its tracker, I can hunt the damn thing down for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’d better,” hissed Varrin.  “All I said I’d do was delay him for you if he showed up, and now my ship -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not gonna take it far, he’ll ditch it soon as he can,” said Cara.  “He likes to stay mobile.  I’ll find it and put it on autopilot back to you.  Now give me the damn tracker.  We wouldn’t be in this mess if you’d been able to hold on to him for more than two seconds.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That green monster he had did something!” snapped Varrin angrily.  “I felt it and so did you!  Don’t even try and blame me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara didn’t respond.  That was the second time she’d felt like an invisible force had punched her in the chest after the asset raised its hand.  No wonder it was so valuable to the -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, she didn’t finish that sentence.  She’d trained herself out of it.  No wonder it was worth one million credits.  That kept her mind where it belonged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She ignored Varrin’s sputtering and took the tracker from him, attuned to his ship.  There was likely a medkit on board, so Djarin might be able to patch himself up, but she’d hit him good right in the thigh and he probably wouldn’t be able to walk well for days, if at all.  He might even bleed out before she got to him, but after he’d given her the slip multiple times and cost her weeks of hunting, she couldn’t say she really minded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cara tracked Varrin’s ship to a moon not too far away, one of a pair of little city-planets floating around the immense green gas giant Hivalin.  The ship was tucked away in some back pathway, isolated and quiet in the dusk.  She kept her blaster ready; even if Djarin was injured she wasn’t going to mess around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Varrin had given her the passcode and she keyed it in.  The ramp opened easily, and she could see the dried blood where Djarin had ran up it less than a day ago, dull maroon under the ship’s emergency lights.  She stepped forward quietly, following the trail to where it led to the pilot’s seat.  Even if Djarin was down, she wasn’t going to fool around with the asset and whatever strange powers it had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But when Cara made it up to the seat, it was empty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin had been there.  There was dried blood everywhere; the pilot’s seat was soaked with it and Cara could smell it.  But there was no sign of Djarin or the asset.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara searched the entire ship, even calling Varrin and forcing him to tell her about the secret compartments he had.  All she found was an empty ship and an unused medkit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell?” Cara asked the air when she finally walked back out, defeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only clue was a few faint footprints in the dirt, with no blood and not even a sign of a limp.  But it was better than nothing, so she set Varrin’s ship to return to him and followed the tracks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Din knew he wasn’t the greatest sight.  Weeks of being hunted without a break meant he was filthy and the fact he was barely scraping up enough food to survive had to be showing in his face.  And all that was before one accounted for the massive bloodstain spattered all over his lower half.  So he understood why this shopkeeper felt the need to ensure his credits were legitimate, but he sure didn’t like it.  The hunter always found him.  He’d ditched the ship but had no doubt her friend the scrapper had a way to help her track it.  He needed to stay moving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there a problem?” he asked, forcing his tone to remain polite.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shopkeeper frowned.  “I’m not sure I can verify these credits.  We don’t really take Republic credits out here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was bullshit; Imperial and Republic credits were spent and traded and exchanged all over the Outer Rim along with a dozen other forms of common currency.  “I’m sorry but they’re all I’ve got.  And as you can see, I could really use some new pants.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shopkeeper gave him a deadpan look and wrinkled his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din sighed.  “I know there’s a currency exchange station just down the street and I saw them taking Republic credits.  Stop telling me you can’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s been an issue with counterfeit coinage lately,” said the shopkeeper.  “Look, have Nrfari down the street exchange your credits and come back with druggats or jiar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din turned away, only to hear “Wait!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shopkeeper had his head tilted at him, but had backed further away.  “You know what, I think Nrfari usually has low business around this time.  Why don’t I call him here for you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” asked Din.  The Nautolan had been looking down his nose at him since he’d showed up dirty as a mudhorn and there was no reason Din could see as to why the Nautolan would suddenly have a change of heart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pride myself on customer service,” said the Nautolan, but he still wasn’t approaching the counter.  “Just wait here.  I’ll go in the back and call him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din just shrugged.  The Nautolan hurried further back into the store.  Din turned to leave; the Nautolan must’ve recognized him and he needed to get out of here.  He glanced at the clothes.  His mom wouldn’t approve of stealing, but he was far too conspicuous in his filthy bloodstained clothes, and he had a few moments while the empty shop was unattended.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt claws against his chest and looked down.  The child was still asleep, tucked away in the sling, but the tiny brow was furrowed and the ears twitched restlessly.  Din patted the child, making soothing noises.  The child had been asleep ever since he’d healed Din’s leg and Din hoped that was normal.  He always needed to sleep when he did any of his other tricks, like making things float in the air or pushing away the hunter chasing them.  He’d want to eat when he woke up too.  Din would have to find him some food.  Both of them, he thought as his stomach growled painfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook the fuzziness out of his head and started sorting through the pants set out on the table in front of him, looking for something close to his size, occasionally glancing over his shoulder for the shopkeeper.  It was odd he hadn’t returned already.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din’s only warning was the sound of a blaster priming.  He looked up in time to see the hunter aiming right at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ducked down, flipping the table just in time to block her shot.  He looked around for any other exit, but threw himself to the ground as the table was shoved right at him, hitting him in the side as he tried to shield the kid and knocking him over.  He felt a hand grab him by his shirt and haul him up, the hunter hissing, “Finally.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din twisted, trying to break her grip, but she had him at just the right angle to keep him from reaching her arm.  He kicked out, knocking the blaster from her hand and making her curse, but she just punched him in the face instead, making him see stars and taste blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to haul your ass in,” snarled the hunter, and then she reached for the kid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!”  Din braced his feet on the table enough to give him the height to kick up, managing to make contact with her neck.  The hand on him let go as she cursed and he slammed back into the ground, just in time to see the hunter lunge at him.  He kicked the table as hard as he could and shoved it right into her gut, knocking her back and giving him a moment to scramble to his feet, just as the hunter vaulted over the table and bodily launched herself at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din barely managed to push her up off the kid as her hands locked around his throat, one knee pinning him in the gut.  “You are the worst fucking bounty I’ve ever had to hunt down,” she growled, squeezing his throat tight.  “You’re lucky they want you alive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din kept his hands on her arms, keeping her away from the kid, but maneuvered his legs to try and flip her off him - only to find, to his horror, that he didn’t have the strength to do it anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t even try it,” snarled the hunter, and she let go of his throat with one hand to draw it back to punch him.  Din grabbed her collar and pulled her down to headbutt her as hard as he could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His head hurt like hell and he was seeing stars again but it was enough for her weight to ease up on him for a moment, and he twisted out from under her and bolted for the door, clutching the kid to make sure he was still there.  He almost made it when something solid made contact with his back, sending him to the ground so hard he barely rolled off the kid in time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop - fucking - running!” growled the hunter behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din scrambled to his feet, barely staying up as a rock hit his leg and another whistled past his ear, and ran.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear the hunter thundering behind him, cursing at him, and he sprinted as fast as he could despite the fact that his lungs burned and his legs ached after just a few moments, protesting all this activity on so little energy.  The sling came loose, forcing Din to hold the sleeping child and taking away the ability to use his arms to help him vault over any obstacles to try and shake off the hunter; he’d never do it on just his legs right now.  The regular townsfolk scattered, either at the sight of a dirty bloodstained man holding a child to his chest or the furious hunter chasing him, he wasn’t sure.  All he knew was he had to run.  He had to keep the child safe.  He had to find somewhere to hide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But no matter how fast he ran or how many corners he turned, the hunter stayed right behind him.  He couldn’t shake her.  He was already stumbling and slowing; it was only a matter of time…  No, he couldn’t let her get the kid!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could hear the shipyard ahead.  Stealing a ship would put him on a lot of people’s radar, but he could deal with that if only he could shake off the hunter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din stumbled, his aching legs protesting all the running, and it saved him from a stun blast that zinged over his head.  He ducked behind a nearby market stall; he didn’t have the kid to warn him or block any shots now.  He bolted straight forward into the shipyard, dodging through the various vehicles and trying to find one he could steal or stow away on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hunter couldn’t shoot him here, near the ships, but he could hear her footsteps after him.  The hiss of a Stokhli stick warned him in time to duck away from the mist that hardened into netting, a few drops clinging to his sleeve.  He rolled right under a starfighter and just ahead was a shuttle, already powered up and the ramp lifting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din didn’t hesitate.  He jumped onto it and rolled inside, looking back in time to see the hunter’s livid face just before the ramp fully closed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din collapsed against the wall, breathing hard.  That had been too close.  But it seemed like every time the hunter found him, she just got closer and closer each time.  He was lucky he’d made it away.  He clutched the bundle in his arms close to his chest.  Hopefully she wouldn’t find him until the kid woke up.  He hated forcing a child to have to worry about the hunter, but the kid gave him an advantage he needed against her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din jumped, scrambling to his feet to confront the woman staring at him, a Mirialan in plain worker’s clothes.  “I - I’m the mechanic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She raised an eyebrow.  “It’s a public shuttle.  I don’t think they’ll care, as long as you can pay the travel fee.”  She glanced down.  “Oh, how cute!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din glanced down to see the child peeking out of the cloth he was wrapped in, blinking groggily but managing to give the Mirialan a charming smile.  “He is,” said Din, holding the kid close.  He never liked people seeing the kid; they tended to blab.  “Just...trying to keep him out of trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Mirialan nodded, then said in a low voice, “The shuttle worker seemed pretty lax.  Stay quiet and they probably won’t notice you, and you can avoid your… trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” said Din gratefully.  He hoped she was sincere.  “Where are we going, anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some little trading port,” said the Mirialan.  “On Arvala-7.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stared at the shuttle rising into the air.  Again she’d lost Djarin.  She’d been warned by the shopkeeper and had plenty of time to plan an attack, had had him in her hands, the kid hadn’t done anything weird, and he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> slipped from her grasp like a Rishi eel.  She cursed vividly at the departing shuttle, making several townsfolk hurry away and a Twi’lek cover her daughter’s ear-cones with a scowl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What the fuck was it going to take to bring him in?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stomped back through town, debating if she should start after Djarin straightaway or buy a drink to soothe her aching head.  The drink sounded better, honestly.  With a drink in her it was easier to close her eyes and fall asleep without seeing exploding rock and burning rubble.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She scanned the town, searching for a likely-looking cantina, but when her eyes landed on the nearest neon sign she saw it pointed to a weapons shop.  Not a bad idea; Djarin had forced her to burn through plenty of ammo, and a new toy always lifted her spirits.  She turned and went inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shop was small but packed with goodies; locked display cases showed off plenty of rifles and pistols and holdouts, standard stuff but decent quality from the looks of it.  Racks of ammo, vibroknives, and power packs were all neatly displayed, and Cara grabbed a few of the necessities she needed and piled them in the basket droid that obligingly followed her around before wandering over to the small specialty section in the back.  Nothing was really out of the ordinary; just a pair of Stokhli sticks, a carbonite sprayer and a few specialty bombs that could be programmed by the owner to customize the detonation.  The only thing Cara didn’t recognize was a rack of nasty-looking hollow darts with fluid in the shafts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look like a woman who knows her way around an armory,” said a cheerful voice, and Cara saw the hefty Zabrak shopkeeper shuffling over.  “Hunter, I’m guessing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right,” said Cara.  “Needed to restock.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything catch your eye?  I noticed you looking,” said the Zabrak with a friendly grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara pointed at the darts.  “What’s in those?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah!  My own creation, actually.”  The Zabrak carefully held up one of the darts for her examination.  “Based on the darts used by the Taloron Hunters but modified to be a hollow tranq dart.  Currently they’re filled with my own concoction, since the Red Moon Hunt will be happening soon out in the savanna.  It’ll incapacitate but won’t kill, since the shriida has to be brought in alive.  You here for the Red Moon Hunt?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” said Cara, studying the dart.  “You said it’ll incapacitate, but not kill?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.  Traditionally most of the shriida are sheared, not killed, these days but if you’ve seen one of those get dragged around they sure don’t like it.  This’ll keep them from putting up a fight.  Overloads their system, so to speak, and makes them feel sick so they’ll just plod along after their hunter all docile-like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stared at the yellowish liquid sloshing through the dart.  “What would it do to a human?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh it won’t kill,” said the Zabrak quickly.  “Too many dumb first-timers get overexcited and don’t think about friendly fire, you know, can’t afford to make it fatal.  But they’ll sure feel the effects.  This stuff could take down a Wookiee.”  He lowered his voice.  “If you’re really worried… look, don’t ask for details, but I can guarantee it’s safe for people because I distilled it from a batch of Imperial drugs they use for interrogations.  They never did like people dying on them.  It’ll feel like hell but it won’t kill.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Imperial drugs.  Cara blinked away the image of Alderaan exploding into dust.  If she got her credits, what did it matter if she used one tool from the Imperials’ arsenal?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll take them,” she said.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh, Cara, be mindful.  You're on a very slippery slope....</p>
<p>Next time:  blurrg riding, a certain Ugnaught low-key roasts the asshole hunter interrogating him, a brief encounter with Mirialan lesbians, and of course a chase scene with poison darts.</p>
<p>The Essential Baby Yoda Commentary:<br/>"Dad.  Dad she's back.  DAD."<br/>"NO DON'T HURT MY DADDY NOOOOOO"<br/>"It's okay, Dad, I can fix it."<br/>"Mmmm yay, happy froggy dreams."<br/>"Huh?  How'd we end up here, Dad?  Let me charm this lady real quick."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The hunt continues and Cara corners her quarry.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Fortunately all it took was a few extra credits to convince the local portmaster to let Cara take a peek at the log and figure out that the shuttle Djarin had snuck on board was just taking some merchants to a trading post on Arvala-7.  In no time Cara was on her way after in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She spent part of the journey setting up her moddable rifle for darts and loading in her new ammo, trying not to think about the fact that they were Imperial drugs.  Eshar in her shocktrooper group had been captured and interrogated and had never quite been the same after, once he’d been rescued with some other prisoners.  She shoved those thoughts out of her mind.  It didn’t matter, not for one million credits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But when she tried to sleep, all she could see was Alderaan.  The fire and rubble and the terrible screams of the other people on the transport that was supposed to fly in and land on a shuttle pad that didn’t exist anymore.  Cara had been next to a mother whose child had been back on the planet, pleading and screaming at nothing for her boy to be okay.  Kind of like how Peli had pleaded for her son and the child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that thought, Cara just got up and did pushups until she lost count and the ship finally pinged an alarm that it was time to leave hyperspace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arvala-7 was a largely deserted world, just a few trading posts spotted around with moisture farmers and less savory groups scattered across the planet’s surface.  Not a lot of crowds for Djarin to hide in.  Hopefully that would make her job easier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara landed the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the plain open landing pad, heading into town to try and find any trace of Djarin, and luckily enough almost immediately overheard a pair of Mirialan women bickering about some sort of green baby.  “It was the cutest thing!  You didn’t see him with it, he was so gentle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me,” said Cara, walking over to them.  “Did you see a male human in dirty clothes with a strange alien baby?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She did,” said the taller Mirialan.  “Some fugitive on our shuttle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that’s not fair, dear,” protested the shorter Mirialan.  “He was very polite.  And so sweet with that little baby.  It clearly adored him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The taller Mirialan rolled her eyes.  “You’re such a pushover, Nia.  He’s clearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> if he’s got a bounty hunter after him.”  She looked back at Cara.  “I take it you want information.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Firelle!” said Nia, putting her hands on her hips.  “You don’t even know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> she’s hunting him.  It could be for the Hutts!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know why he’s running with that baby,” returned Firelle.  “For all you know </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> stealing it for the Hutts, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>she’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> trying to return it to its family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both looked at Cara, so she said, “Something like that” and tried not to think of Peli.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See?  What’d I tell you?”  Firelle turned back to Cara and said, “He snuck on board the shuttle and kept to himself during the trip.  I wouldn’t have even seen him if I hadn’t gone back to find this bleeding heart.”  She smiled with exasperated affection at Nia before continuing.  “He snuck right back off as soon as we landed.  Talked with some Ugnaught in town and left with him; I saw them head out.  West, I think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” said Cara, turning to go back to her ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” said Nia, and Cara looked back to see the shorter Mirialan looking distraught.  “You aren’t… going to hurt them, are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara self-consciously pushed the blaster rifle on her back further from view.  “No.  They’re wanted alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nia sighed.  “Well, that’s something, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara turned away.  Nia would be much happier believing the lie.  Maybe if Cara said it enough, she could believe it too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cara flew the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> low and headed west, scanning for settlements of any kind.  It didn’t take long before she picked up what looked like a small moisture farm.  She landed the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> behind a nearby hill and went to investigate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was small, a modest dwelling, a work area, and a paddock where a pair of blurrgs were shuffling around.  A lone Ugnaught was pouring a bucket of foul-smelling food into a trough, murmuring quietly to them as he worked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” called Cara, marching over.  “You.  Ugnaught.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ugnaught barely acknowledged her, intent on brushing his blurrg down.  “You are the hunter,” he finally said when she came over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara stopped in surprise.  “Uh, yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your quarry came here.  He said you would follow.  He has already left.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Figures.”  Cara suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.  “Where’d he go, then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are other settlements he could travel to.  Other farms, and other places more dangerous.”  The blurrg growled, and the Ugnaught patted it.  “I advised him not to tell me, so that I could not direct you accurately.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh for fuck’s sake.  Don’t tell me the poor little mechanic with a baby thing worked on you, too.  He’s a wanted fugitive, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I offer help to any who come here.  My only wish is for peace, and I will help you too, if you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara snorted.  “So you help my bounty and then turn around and help me?  You don’t seem that reliable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ugnaught stopped and looked at her.  “If you are already hunting down a starving man and his child, nothing I could say would change your mind.  I have no wish to incur violence on myself.  I will help you.  I have spoken.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ugnaught stalked away then, leaving Cara to blink in surprise and force his words out of her mind before she followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He went over to a stand where a saddle was and stopped.  “I gave him one of my blurrgs, to traverse the desert, and three places he could go to seek refuge.  I do not know which one he chose.  I can only offer you the same:  a blurrg to ride, and the three locations, for a share of the bounty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara raised her eyebrows.  “I could just take the blurrg and shoot you in the legs until you talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could,” said the Ugnaught mildly.  “But I would be a more reliable source to someone who treated me with respect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much of a share are you wanting?” asked Cara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Three thousand.  For the blurrg, the saddle, the information.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seems steep.  You charge him that much?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ugnaught shook his head.  “He offered what little he had.  But I prefer to ask of people what they are able and willing to give.  From him, I asked that he keep the child safe from the Imperials.  From you… credits will do fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara glared.  But the Ugnaught seemed immune.  Finally, she said, “Deal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ugnaught gestured further west.  “A day’s ride out there is a small settlement.  Some Nikto brigands had settled there, but a bounty droid cleared them out a month ago.  I do not know if they came back.”  He motioned northwest and said, “Half a day’s ride over there is a small village.  Peaceful folk; they will not harm you and you needn’t threaten them.  The Jawas often come to trade, if you wish to speak to them as well.  Another half-day past, there is a moisture farm similar to mine.  The farmer there retired from the Empire.  He may help you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not Imperial,” said Cara sharply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you are not,” said the Ugnaught.  “But you are doing their work, so what difference does it make?  Your quarry told me who wants the child.  So another Imperial may help you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara pulled her blaster and stuck it in the Ugnaught’s face, a rushing sound in her ears and rage white-hot in her chest.  “I’m not a fucking Imperial.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did not say you were,” said the Ugnaught quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara holstered the blaster.  Stupid, to let some Ugnaught get under her skin.  “Go saddle the blurrg.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought about just riding off and leaving without paying the damn Ugnaught.  But she handed over the three thousand credits before mounting the blurrg and riding west, after very faint tracks still left in the mud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Din knew it would be safer to stick to the rocky formations that covered Arvala-7; they were better cover.  But the wide lavender sky brightening to deep orange where the sun was setting was too beautiful.  The child’s ears perked up and he let out a long “ooo” as he saw it, crawling halfway out of the sling Din had retied across his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” said Din.  “Too bad we didn’t get to see one on Tatooine.  You’d like that.  Momma and I would always go out and watch on Boonta Eve.”  It made his heart ache as he thought of his mother.  He hadn’t dared call her ever since the hunter had started dogging his steps so closely.  He hoped she was all right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blurrg grumbled and Din reached down to pat her back.  The kid squirmed, trying to copy him.  Din laughed.  “She’s a good girl, isn’t she?  You can pet her when we stop.”  He’d kept at an easy pace, to not tire the animal out.  Hopefully with some endurance he could make decent time and a far distance and force the hunter to scour the planet instead of targeting him in some settlement.  With the supplies Kuiil had given him, he should be able to stay out in the wilds for some time if he was frugal enough.  Kuiil had warned him he would tell the hunter the likely places for Din to go, so Din intended to avoid all of them and force her to track him down instead - or, hopefully, shake her off entirely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aah, aah,” said the kid, patting Din’s arm and pointing at his mouth insistently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” said Din with a laugh.  He reached into one of the packed saddlebags, pulling out a ration bar and breaking off a piece to hand to the kid.  The kid stuffed his cheeks and made grabby hands for more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have to chew first, kiddo,” said Din, but as soon as the kid gulped the bite down he obligingly handed him another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about to break off a third piece when the blurrg suddenly jerked and growled.  “Easy, girl,” said Din, patting her.  “What is it?”  He automatically guided her back closer to the rock wall they were parallel to, scanning the horizon for danger as the kid started whining.  He didn’t see anyone approaching from ahead or behind, so what did -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The slight movement of a shadow was his only warning.  Din kicked the blurrg into a run just as something whistled past his ear.  He looked up and on top of the ridge was the hunter, taking aim from astride her own bluurg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go, go!” he urged the blurrg, pulling the reins to guide it closer to the ridge.  But a look ahead showed that he was about to lose his cover as the ridge tapered off, and looking to the side he could see the hunter’s shadow, still riding after him and close on his tail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din pulled his blaster out of his holster.  The power pack was almost dead and it wouldn’t fire strong enough to kill, but hopefully this would still work.  He kept his blurrg along the line of the ridge, but once it merged into the ground, he pulled up the blurrg and turned.  The hunter was charging along, her own blaster raised and ready.  With a silent apology to Kuiil, Din shot the mount under her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blurrg roared and bucked, throwing her.  Din wasted no more time watching, kicking his blurrg back into a gallop and heading away as fast as he could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought he’d done it, he’d thrown her off, when there was a faint whistling sound and suddenly his blurrg howled and stumbled violently, tipping him off and slamming him into the ground.  He barely grabbed the kid, cushioning him from the fall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blurrg whined and wailed, a terrible sound, but she didn’t bolt so Din jumped back on her again.  But just as he did, there was another whistling sound and then a sharp pain in his arm.  He kicked the blurrg back into a gallop, and only when he looked back and saw the hunter was out of sight did he finally slow the blurrg and look down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid was fussing and whining, already reaching for the strange dart sticking out of his arm.  Din yanked it out, studying it.  It was small with a hollow shaft, but whatever had been in there was already gone.  There was hardly a mark on his arm, just a small wound with barely a trickle of blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child was practically climbing up his tunic, so Din lifted him up, and as soon as he could reach the child placed a hand on Din’s arm and focused.  Din felt the strange sensation of his skin pulling closed, and the wound was gone.  The kid slumped against his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn’t so bad,” said Din, patting the kid’s back.  “We might shake her yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Night fell soon enough, and with it came a chill in the air.  Din couldn’t stop shivering, no matter how hard he tried to be still to let the kid rest.  The blurrg must not have liked the night either, stumbling and making a low groaning sound as she walked.  Din finally decided to give her a break and climbed off her back, but the movement made him violently dizzy and the next thing he knew he was on his hands and knees, throwing up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid was crying, and Din managed to pull him out of the sling and set him on the ground before he heaved again, bile spattering on the dirt.  Din wiped his mouth, wondering if there had been something unsuitable for humans in the meal he’d shared with Kuiil on the moisture farm.  Other than that, he’d only eaten the ration bars Kuiil had given him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid was still fussing, tugging on Din’s sleeve insistently.  Din patted him on the back reassuringly once he felt he’d emptied his stomach.  “I’m okay, kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the kid didn’t settle, pulling on his sleeve and all but climbing up Din’s arm.  Din picked him up, stumbling as he stood again and almost losing his balance.  “I’m okay.  Just need… some sleep, I think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blurrg had wandered off a few meters.  Din went over to her, but even the short walk made his legs hurt, and the blurrg shied away when he tried to mount her.  He looked and found a similar dart to the one that had been in his arm lodged in her leg.  “Easy, girl,” he murmured, patting her side.  “I got it out.”  But when he tried to climb back in the saddle, the blurrg suddenly growled and rounded on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid shrieked in alarm and thrust out a hand.  The blurrg stumbled back, then bolted off, with the saddle and the supplies Kuiil had given him still on her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, shit,” said Din, watching the blurrg disappear into the night.  He hoped she made it back to Kuiil.  But for now, he was stranded out here with the kid and feeling like he would collapse if he stayed awake much longer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>West.  There was shelter to the west, Kuiil had told him, and given him pretty detailed directions too.  His head was too fuzzy to remember most of them right now, but he knew there were places to hide and try and trade.  But right now, he needed to rest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid was still whining and the sound stabbed at his skull, but Din stumbled along until he found a jumble of rocks to hide himself in the middle of, slumping down and leaning against them with a heavy breath.  The kid immediately climbed up his chest, fussing and patting at his face anxiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m okay,” said Din.  “I’m okay, I just need to sleep…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Din woke up when the sun was already high, beating down on them.  He was still freezing cold.  The kid was curled up asleep on his chest, but as soon as he woke up so did the kid.  The green ears drooped, the kid whining and reaching for his arm, holding out his hand again.  But the wound was already healed.  There was nothing to fix.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His stomach growled, but then it flip-flopped uncomfortably.  Din groaned, tipping his head back and immediately having to shield his eyes from the sun.  It was so bright, he should be warmer than this, shouldn’t he?  But that didn’t matter.  “Come on, kiddo,” he said.  “We need to keep moving.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child cried, tugging at his scarf.  Din fixed it around his neck, pulling the hood up to shield himself from the sun, and fixed the sling across his chest before he set out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first it wasn’t so bad; walking eased the chill in his bones a little and his stomach settled a bit.  But within an hour his legs ached badly and his arms were shaking and his head was pounding.  He barely made it to a tiny cave cracked into a rock wall before he collapsed, unable to go any further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know how long he sat there.  The next thing he was aware of, the kid was urgently pulling on his tunic and making a soft hissing sound.  “What?” he asked, looking down and finding the kid looking frightened, eyes wide and ears flattened.  That made him sit up.  “What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aah,” whispered the kid, pointing outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din leaned forward, blinking his bleary eyes, and saw a lone figure getting closer.  He swore when the figure got closer.  The hunter had found them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din scrambled to his feet, cursing as his legs ached fiercely in protest.  He’d never outrun her like this.  She was still several meters off, but she was clearly moving this way.  Desperate, Din stumbled further back into the cave to duck behind a rock formation.  There was barely enough room to cram himself back there.  The kid looked up at him worriedly, giving him the tiniest coo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din tucked him to the side.  “If she finds me, you hide, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kid only leaned closer, grabbing Din’s shirt tightly in his claws.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat there in silence, listening as her footsteps got closer.  Din hardly dared breathe.  He tried to think of how he could hide the kid, he couldn’t let her get the kid, but his head was just pounding so much…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The footsteps stopped.  Din held his breath.  Even the kid was perfectly still and silent.  Then, after one long moment, there was a curse and the hunter retreated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din didn’t dare leave his hiding spot still.  He didn’t know how long he stayed there; he wasn’t even sure he stayed conscious the whole time.  But finally when the kid wouldn’t stop whining he squeezed out of his hideout, stumbling outside of the tiny cave.  Looking back he could see that the rock formation had been just enough to hide him from anyone outside, though if the hunter had decided to go inside she would’ve seen him for sure.  He’d lucked out that time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have to keep moving,” he told the kid, the words thick on his tongue.  The kid whined again, but Din bundled him into the sling once he retied it and started walking.  West.  Kuiil had told him to go west.  There were settlements to the west.  He had to keep the kid safe.  Had to keep him away from the hunter, no matter what.  So he went west.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Losing her blurrg was a setback, but at least Djarin had lost his too.  Cara had found it hours later after she’d shot the creature and Djarin, moaning and groaning a storm and not letting her anywhere near it as it stumbled around like a drunken Mimbanite.  Cara considered it a good sign; if the poison did that to a large, tough animal like a blurrg, then it would do a number on Djarin.  Hopefully she would have him in a matter of hours.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tracks were easy enough to follow in Arvala-7’s mud and dirt.  Once she’d found the blurrg and realized Djarin was no longer riding it, it was a simple matter to backtrack until she found footprints and go after those.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She assumed she’d find him soon enough, hopefully sobbing in pain.  But all she found was more and more footprints, through the night and into the day, long enough she was forced to stop and rest for a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara had figured even that wouldn’t set her back much.  But as she kept going, all she found were more and more tracks.  Sometimes she lost the trail and had to double back, but other times it meandered wildly.  She even found a cave Djarin must’ve taken shelter in, though when she glanced in it was empty.  But she still couldn’t catch up to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you, a fucking droid?” she asked the tracks as she kept following them through the night.  He had to be affected by the poison, he had to be.  The Zabrak had said it would work on humans, even given her a vial of antidote for free in case she accidentally punctured herself because he’d told her the effects were so nasty and would linger for a long time.  She’d tracked enough bounties via footprints that she recognized stumbling, uneven steps; that, combined with the fact that the trail veered randomly often meant he had to be affected.  But while there were spots he must’ve stopped to rest, he still kept heading west.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He must be trying to reach one of the settlements, Cara realized.  Maybe to find an antidote or just shake her off.  But either way she had to find him before he was able to cure himself or disappear in a crowd, or the poison’s effects finally wore off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara walked.  Every so often she’d lose the trail, as if Djarin had suddenly realized he needed to cover his tracks, but he did a shit job so she found them again soon enough.  Across open plains of dust, through crevices and cracks in the rock, trudging through patches of mud in hidden trails where the sun hadn’t dried the ground, Cara walked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t believe how fucking long it was taking to track Djarin down.  She was tempted to jog after him and catch up sooner, but she paced herself.  She’d gotten too overconfident before and lost him.  Better he wear himself out as much as possible.  The tracks were slowly getting fresher.  She was catching up to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara finally let herself get a few hours’ sleep and a quick bite to eat before continuing on, heading west at a slightly quicker pace now that she felt replenished.  The ground was rockier now, dustier, but the wind was the only thing erasing any tracks now; Djarin seemed to have given up trying to cover his trail.  Cara even found a spot where he’d clearly laid down for a time, tiny three-toed prints scattered around the rough shape of a body.  But whatever had happened, he’d picked himself up and kept going.  So Cara did the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was starting to wonder if she’d ever catch up to her damn bounty when she finally paused on the top of a ridge and saw that below was a small compound of some sort.  It looked abandoned, no sign of movement or life.  But there was a well in the center, and the buildings were standing.  It would provide shelter and water and there might be more supplies inside.  It’s certainly where she would’ve gone if sick and compromised with a bounty hunter on her tail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara scanned it with her scope and saw no sign of anyone there.  At least the Nikto hadn’t returned.  There were several buildings, though, and she’d bet her blaster that Djarin was hiding in one of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She headed down cautiously, blaster ready.  She’d been tricked and attacked by Djarin enough times she wasn’t going to underestimate him, even now.  As she stepped into the courtyard, it was obvious he’d been here.  The well had been used, the empty bucket set beside it.  There were footprints all around, both human and the tiny three-toed prints she’d seen earlier.  They led straight ahead to the building on the far side of the courtyard, the only entrance a heavy blast door that had been sealed shut, recent streaks of dust wiped clean swiped across it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was almost too obvious, so Cara did a sweep of the other buildings first.  They were mostly empty, and what supplies were left were either untouched or had clearly been raided weeks ago, or been investigated by whatever animals had also taken care of the remnants of the Nikto corpses scattered about.  There was no sign of anyone recent, or Djarin specifically.  Cara found herself standing in front of the heavy reddish blast door on the far building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She investigated it idly, searching for a weakness.  She found the controls quickly enough, but they’d already been destroyed beyond repair, the wires torn out and what was left melted into a twisted mess, likely by a blaster bolt.  Cara was no mechanic; she barely knew enough to keep the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> running, and most of that was from curses and desperate Holonet searches.  The blast door was far too heavy for any of the weaponry she had.  She’d have to find another way in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara circled the building, noting the lack of tracks; Djarin must’ve only stopped to secure the main door before going in.  She still proceeded cautiously.  He might’ve set a trap or be misleading her this whole time.  After all the trouble she’d had hunting him, it almost seemed too easy now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She found a side door, locked but not sabotaged, and her slicer spike took care of that.  The door slid open reluctantly, groaning in protest, and Cara winced at the sound.  So much for the element of surprise.  She set her blaster pistol to stun and kept it up as she walked inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her footsteps echoed loudly in the silent room, her feet kicking up puffs of dust as she walked.  Nothing moved but the dust, dancing in the light that slanted into the building from high windows above.  There were crates and containers scattered around, but they had already been raided weeks ago.  The only other sound Cara could hear besides her own steps was very faint, harsh breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara zeroed in on it, cautiously, wary of a trap or trick.  But as she rounded a pile of dusty junk draped under a net, all she found was Djarin sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, the asset still clutched in his hands.  He looked like shit, filthy and worn and staring at her with glassy eyes, but even without the obvious effects of the poison he looked like he hadn’t had a decent meal or rest in weeks.  Even the asset looked tired, but was still watching her with its big brown eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointed the blaster at his face.  “Get up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just stared at her.  His hands tightened around the kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara sighed, pulling her cuffs off her belt with her free hand.  “Enough theatrics.  Just get up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to do this,” Djarin said, his voice raspy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you really think that’ll work?  Get up and no tricks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s just a kid.  They had him in a cage.  I don’t even know what they were planning to do to him, but it couldn’t have been good,” Djarin said, giving her a pleading look.  “Are you really gonna turn him over to the Imps?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara snarled.  “I’m going to get one million credits.  That’s all I care about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can still get it.”  Djarin staggered to his feet, swaying; Cara kept her blaster ready anyway.  “Turn me in.  Leave the kid here.  We can take him to Kuiil and leave him there and you can turn me in instead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara snorted.  “I doubt you’re the one the bulk of the credits are for.  The commission is for both of you anyway.  I do my job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please,” Djarin pleaded.  “Please, leave the kid.  He can’t go back there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re gonna keep doing that I’ll just gag you.  Put your hands out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Djarin tucked the asset into the ratty sling tied across his chest, hiding him before holding out his hands.  Cara cuffed him and patted him down, taking a blaster and a couple vibroknives off his person and tucking them away on herself instead.  The asset kept peeking out, watching her, but if she looked at it, it hid back in its sling.  Djarin just stood there, resigned, swaying slightly on his feet and looking like he’d fall over if she so much as nudged him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once she was confident he was subdued, unarmed, and wasn’t going anywhere except with her, Cara grabbed him under the arm and yanked him along.  “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, the place where Cara finally catches Din is the same place Din found Baby Yoda.  *John Mulaney voice* It's important to me that you know that.  (Also IG-11 was the one sent to eradicate the Nikto group and did so, so technically this is his first appearance?  He will be back, but not for a while...)</p><p>Note:  the blurrgs were only mildly hurt and made it home safely to Kuiil!  (Din's blaster was almost dead so it surprised the blurrg more than anything, and being a large tough animal the other blurrg shook off the poison's effects much better than Din did.)</p><p>Baby Yoda Commentary:<br/>"I wanna see ALL the pretty colors the sky can be, Dad."<br/>"NO NOT THAT FUCKING HUNTER AGAIN, RUN DAD RUN!"<br/>"Oh no Dad you're hurt!  It's okay, I'll fix it!"<br/>"But I fixed it, Dad!  Why are you still hurting...?"<br/>"No, Dad, I want to stay with you!  Even if we have to go with this asshole."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cara has her quarry, so now it's time to bring them in.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The walk back to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> took much longer than Cara would’ve liked.  But Djarin couldn’t keep up with her pace.  She dragged him, she warned him the cuffs would shock him if he wandered farther than two meters from her, she threatened to shoot him in the legs and just drag his ass back.  But the poison had done its work and he was simply incapable of keeping up with her.  She had to slow down and hold him upright to keep him moving.  She told herself it was only because she didn’t want to carry him around if she knocked him out and not just because the asset peeked out to glare at her whenever she threatened its caretaker.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin didn’t fight her at all.  It didn’t matter if she threatened him or physically dragged him or anything.  His only reaction would be if she got too close to the asset; then he would clutch the kid tight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took the rest of the day and all night to reach the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest,</span>
  </em>
  <span> mainly because every few hours Cara had to stop and let Djarin sit and rest for a while.  She pretended not to notice the way he was shivering, or how the child kept reaching up to pat his face in concern, or the reassurances he whispered to it no matter how miserable he looked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally they reached the ship.  Djarin glanced over the hill, towards where the Ugnaught’s farm was.  “You can still leave the kid here,” he said.  “I won’t fight you, I’ll come quietly.  Just let the kid go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara didn’t dignify that with an answer, just shoved him up the ramp ahead of her.  She dragged him inside and made him sit, setting the cuffs to magnetize and attaching them to the wall before heading up into the cockpit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She fired up the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest,</span>
  </em>
  <span> ignoring its usual cacophony of rattling and rumbling, finally lifting off from Arvala-7 and setting course for Nevarro.  It would take a few days - the hyperdrive had gotten crabby over the last few weeks and she didn’t want to risk overdoing it - but soon Djarin and his kid would be out of her hair, and she’d have her money.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stayed in the cockpit as long as she could, adjusting course, running diagnostics, and any other bullshit busy work she could find.  But even the relatively stiff pilot’s chair was starting to feel way too comfortable, and soon her eyes kept drooping closed and the fire of Alderaan was dancing on the back of her eyelids.  She had to get up or she’d be asleep and stuck with her nightmares again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She lurched out of her seat and her eyes landed on the antidote she’d set down on the console when she got back to the ship.  She supposed Djarin was good and caught and couldn’t really do much on her ship.  No sense in having him suffer the whole trip to Nevarro.  The Imperials would make him suffer enough when they got him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pushed that thought aside and went back below. Djarin was still where she’d left him in the ship’s hold, stuck to the wall by the cuffs although he’d managed to still cradle the asset in his arms, his sweaty face pressed to the cool metal wall.  It left his neck exposed enough so Cara could walk over and jab the hypospray right into it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he yelled, grabbing the kid and trying to jerk away from her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Antidote,” Cara told him.  “Unless you want to feel like shit all the way to Nevarro.  I have more darts to stick you with if I need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He just grumbled at her.  “What was in those?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good stuff, apparently,” said Cara.  “Since it finally got me you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even if he looked like absolute shit, thin and worn and filthy, Djarin still summoned the energy to give her an impressive stink-eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara ignored it, going over to the armory instead.  She made sure she was hiding the keypad from Djarin’s view as she opened it and started taking apart and resetting her moddable blaster rifle, but when she glanced over found he wasn’t paying attention to her at all, only talking to the asset that was anxiously squeaking and patting Djarin’s face before pointing to its mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I know,” said Djarin sadly, stroking the kid’s ears.  “I don’t have anything for you, buddy.  We lost it all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara hesitated.  It would be smarter to keep them weak, unable to fight back.  But she couldn’t have them starve before they arrived at Nevarro and she didn’t know how long they’d been without food.  She grabbed a few ration bars and stuck them in Djarin’s face.  “Here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked, surprised, but took them.  She could hear his stomach growling and expected him to just gulp them down, but instead he unwrapped one and started breaking it into pieces, the cuffs making his movements limited and clumsy.  The asset chattered, slipping out of his arms to sit on the floor and open its mouth wide, letting him drop a piece in before loudly begging for more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chew first,” Djarin said firmly.  “No choking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even with Djarin regulating its eating, the asset still inhaled two entire ration bars.  Only once it was content did Djarin finally gulp down the last one, while the asset looked around curiously, even taking a few steps away.  But as soon as Cara walked past it scuttled right back into Djarin’s lap, watching her warily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin patted the kid reassuringly, murmuring quietly to it for a moment before leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.  Cara could hear his breathing even out into sleep as she continued working in the hold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She kept an eye on them, Djarin sleeping and the asset staring at her, but otherwise paid them no mind.  It would be easier if she could carbonite them, but she had no idea how the asset’s species would react and didn’t want to risk it, and even though she could carbonite Djarin, she didn’t care to find out exactly what the asset was capable of if it was concerned about it caretaker.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara really did wonder what the asset could do, though.  It pushed her without touching her.  And it had to have been helping Djarin somehow; he might be a better fighter than she had anticipated but he was only human.  And every single time she’d thought she’d had him injured, the next time she’d found him, he’d been perfectly fine.  Something strange was clearly going on.  It was no surprise the asset was wanted by the - no, for one million credits.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A chirrup made her jump.  She looked down and the creature was suddenly at her feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara’s hand went to her blaster pistol but the asset just stared up at her with big brown eyes, cooing softly for a moment before saying “Aah!  Aah!” and pointing at its mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re hungry again?” Cara asked.  “Shoo.  Go back to your babysitter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The asset whined insistently and jabbed a finger at its mouth.  “Aah!  Aah!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe it really was still hungry.  She’d been doing her damnedest to keep supplies out of their hands, after all.  “All right, fine,” she said, retrieving another ration bar and unwrapping it, then handing it to the asset.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately the asset scurried off back to Djarin.  Belatedly Cara wondered if she should’ve broken it up so the tiny creature didn’t choke, like Djarin had, but to her surprise the asset only stuck the bar partway in its mouth to free its hands to crawl over Djarin’s lap and up his tunic until it reached his face.  Once there, it pulled the bar from its mouth and shoved the whole thing down Djarin’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin sputtered and jumped, sending the asset flying backwards, but the child only giggled madly before righting itself, proudly pointing at the food.  “Aah,” it said, patting Djarin’s middle and pointing at his mouth.  “Aah!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” said Djarin, laughing a little.  The asset clapped and cooed, watching Djarin eat, smiling an adorable little smile that got bigger every time Djarin smiled back.  The child clearly liked and trusted Djarin, and the feeling seemed mutual.  A strange pair, but… it was sweet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The Empire won’t care,</span>
  </em>
  <span> a voice whispered in her head, but Cara shoved it away.  That wasn’t her concern, and making it hers would only lead to trouble.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cara didn’t want to sleep, so she ate a ration bar herself and reorganized the weapons cabinet and took stock of all her supplies and made sure everything was well out of reach of her prisoners.  The child didn’t wander away from Djarin again, the two of them curled up and drifting in and out of sleep, so eventually she passed out in the cockpit herself for a while, and when she jerked awake from the sound of Alderaan exploding and the screams of the other people on the shuttle with her, she went down below and cleaned herself off in the sonic shower for a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she came out Djarin was staring at her.  “What?” she snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked at her, but finally asked “Can I use your sonic?”  He glanced down.  “I haven’t been able to even dump a bucket of water on myself in weeks.  I’m disgusting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara glanced at his filthy clothes and wrinkled her nose.  “Yeah.  You are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know.”</span>
  </em>
  <span>  He narrowed his eyes at her.  “Can I shower or not?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara considered.  He was genuinely disgusting; now that she bothered to pay attention she could certainly smell him over the usual ship smells of grease and oil even from here.  But on the other hand, she knew three different ways to rig a sonic shower to break or explode, and since he was a mechanic he probably knew even more.  Of course even if he did break it, where was he going to go?  And he was cuffed and unarmed and still weak, and she had cycled the armory locking key again, so even if he did try to escape or overpower her, he’d be hard-pressed to succeed.  But she wasn’t taking chances.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine.  Only because you’re stinking up my ship.”  She pulled her blaster pistol out and kept it ready.  “You stay cuffed and the door stays open.  I’m watching you.  And the kid stays with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If he lets you,” returned Djarin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid had been curled up in Djarin’s lap, dozing, but as soon as Cara moved to detach the cuffs from the wall he leapt up, chirring anxiously and clinging to Djarin’s pants.  “It’s all right,” Djarin said soothingly, patting his ears.  “Stay here.  I’ll be back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid whined but sat as Djarin got up stiffly, walking over to the tiny ’fresher and starting to strip down to his underclothes.  Cara sat, resting her arm on her knee so her blaster pistol was ready to stun him if he tried anything funny.  He really was filthy, she thought as he started using the sonic on his clothes, dirt evaporating into the air.  And she could see she truly had run him to his limit; he was thin enough she could see his ribs, even though there was still plenty of evidence of lean muscle as well.  His hair had grown out longer than the holo she’d originally been given, soft curls falling into his eyes, though he’d kept the hair on his face to scruff.  She’d certainly had uglier bounties.  If she had to watch one strip in her ’fresher, this was definitely one of her better options.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara was distracted when the child chirred at her irritably, walking over.  She tensed, ready to grab it, but it only sat down between her and Djarin and gave her the biggest “try me” look she’d ever seen on a living being.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin glanced over and chuckled.  “Ad’ika, it’s fine.  Leave her alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ad’ika.  She knew that word -  it was Mando’a; she’d heard Paz say it when she’d been in the covert, wounded and drugged to hell but still half-conscious.  She shook her head.  She didn’t want to think about Paz.  He’d kill her if he knew that the asset was a child.  He’d always had a soft spot for little ones.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She forced herself not to think of her friend, or the child in front of her, or the man in her ’fresher, or the Imperials.  Nothing but securing her quarry and getting her one million credits.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child stayed in front of her for a while, staring fearlessly, but finally got bored and scuttled over to its caretaker instead.  Cara let him; neither had done anything suspicious and Djarin was almost done anyway, trying to get dirt out of his hair.  As soon as the child started patting his leg he scooped it up, taking its clothes to use the sonic on them and putting the child in the sink to clean the grime off, laughing as it splashed and played in the water.  That made Djarin laugh too, both of them smiling and happy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara hated the sight, because she knew they wouldn’t stay that way for long.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Din felt a million times better once he was clean and all the sweat and filth and dirt caked on him was finally shivered off by the sonic.  He was surprised the hunter had allowed him, but she certainly hadn’t been wrong about him stinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d watched him closely and he didn’t dare try anything, at least not yet.  He had to regain his strength.  The antidote had worked and he no longer felt feverish or sick, she’d fed him and he was getting stronger, but there was still no way he’d be able to take her in a fight yet.  He wasn’t even sure where she was taking them, or how long he had to figure out how to escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ship was utilitarian enough, older than the Empire but mostly made of standard parts, so there was plenty he could sabotage if he had tools or at least a blaster or full use of his hands.  From the sound of this bucket, it wouldn’t take much.  The hunter was adamant about not uncuffing him, though, and the only reason she didn’t remagnetize him to the wall was the child.  “Watch the kid.  Keep it out of my stuff.  Otherwise I’ll carbonite it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din had just nodded, holding the child tight in his arms.  Best to play the compliant bounty for now.  Not that he had a choice.  The hunter watched him like a hawk-bat, and if she was sleeping, it was only after he’d drifted off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For now he was sitting with his back leaning against the wall next to the pile of crates, in the spot that had been unofficially designated his.  The child was dozing in his lap, which was a relief because otherwise he was fussing and bored.  He didn’t mess with the hunter but he didn’t seem too afraid of her, which worried Din, because he was certain they had very good reason to fear her.  He wasn’t sure how to escape her, or at least persuade her to leave the kid behind when she turned him in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tensed as he heard footsteps, and the aforementioned hunter came down from the cockpit.  She never left him unsupervised for long, giving him precious little time to inspect any accessible panels or wiring for sabotage possibilities.  There was a loose panel on the other side of the hold he wanted to look at, and a few things in the ’fresher could easily be set to break at inopportune moments if he had just a few minutes alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hunter ignored him.  She’d gotten out of her armor-paneled jerkin, in a tank instead.  She had a tattoo of bars circling her bicep, which Din could’ve sworn he’d seen before but couldn’t place - at least until she turned and he saw she had another tattoo on her face, no longer hidden by her face paint.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were in the Rebellion,” he said in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She jerked but didn’t look at him.  “So what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din shrugged.  It wouldn’t be smart to push her but maybe he could persuade her to not do an Imperial job.  “Just didn’t realize you were a veteran.  Even out on Tatooine we heard about the Empire’s fall.  There were celebrations for days; Momma and I didn’t work for a week.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lucky you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She went back to bustling around the hold, and Din finally recalled where he’d seen that arm tattoo before.  “You were a dropper?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She paused to glance at him and her arm before answering.  “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You would've fought the Imps then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She slammed down the bag in her hand unnecessarily hard. “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din watched her, unsure.  The last thing he wanted to do was piss her off.  But as he was considering what to say she said, “Saw most of my action after Endor.  So don’t give me the thank-the-veteran routine.  I was rank and file in the base during most of the actual war.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din shrugged.  “I’m a mechanic.  So I know being the grunt is still important.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just a soldier.  Not that important.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Rebellion wouldn’t have won without soldiers.  And I can tell you must’ve been a good one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was silent for so long he thought she’d decided to ignore him, but finally she said “It didn’t bring anyone back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He waited to see if she’d say anymore, but she only climbed back up into the cockpit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din watched the ladder for when she came back down.  She never left him awake and unattended very long; she probably knew he was trying to find a way to escape.  He’d been on the run for months and she was the only one who ran him into the ground like that even before she actually captured him.  He couldn’t afford to underestimate her; if he got caught planning an escape his best-case scenario was being magnetized to the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But over an hour passed and she didn’t come back down, nor did he hear any movement from the cockpit.  Did he dare venture up there?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced down at the child sleeping peacefully in his lap.  He had to keep the child safe, no matter what.  He needed to prepare for whatever was ahead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carefully, he lay the child down, praying he wouldn’t wake up.  He was so attached and Din had found out the hard way, several times, that waking up without him in the child’s sight meant an immediate screaming fit.  Din would have to move fast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child snuffled but didn’t stir as Din lay him down and wiggled out of his little corner, his legs and ass stiff and sore from being kept sitting there most of the time.  The cuffs limited his movement, but was still able to move with almost no noise over to the ladder.  He glanced up, but there was no telling if the hunter was sleeping or simply working quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rung by rung, he carefully stepped up until he could peek into the cockpit.  It was quiet, the lights dimmed.  The hunter was passed out in the pilot’s seat, a half-empty bottle of something that reeked of alcohol on the console next to her, her breathing slow and even.  As far as Din could tell, she was genuinely asleep, but if she was a hunter and a soldier she’d still wake easy.  He’d have to be quiet and fast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carefully he inched around her towards the navicomputer.  Of course it was right in front of her; he was practically on her lap before he could reach it.  But he managed to pull up their current course:  Nevarro.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din bit back a curse.  He had hoped they were returning to Tatooine.  If he could get out he knew where to go and who to trust; he knew the desert and had a much better chance of losing the hunter and anyone else chasing him.  So far he’d avoided returning there to protect his mother, but right now he’d give just about anything to see her again.  Especially since right now, he wasn’t sure if he ever would.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He refocused and studied the course.  They would’ve been there already if the hunter had been pushing her ship, but judging from the horrendous sounds that frequently came from the engines she couldn’t.  But Din only had a day left to figure out a plan, maybe two.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe he could look at the ship’s readouts, find a weakness.  But even as he thought about it the hunter stirred, shifting her legs and turning her head.  Din jumped back, frozen in place, but she settled and didn’t wake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced down.  There was a vibroknife in her belt, easily reached… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even as he had the thought he dismissed it.  He was a decent fighter but she was still stronger than him, and uncuffed.  Unless he could off her in one blow, it wasn’t a fight he could win, at least not like this.  Her tank had ridden up and between that and her exposed arms, he could see she didn’t lack muscle.  Her face wasn’t that bad either; now that she was asleep and relaxed and not actively trying to hurt him, he could notice the line of her jaw and the curve of her lip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shifted again and that shook him out of his thoughts and sent him down the ladder so fast he accidentally elbowed a control panel, sealing the cockpit above.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din cursed, quickly fixing it.  He had no doubt she’d notice if he changed anything.  But he made a mental note of what button he’d pushed as he quickly slid back into his designated spot, pretending to be asleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Five minutes later the hunter came down below, grumbling to herself, to retrieve a couple ration bars before returning to the cockpit.  She glanced at him to make sure he was in place but otherwise showed no sign of knowing about his little escapade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din huffed out a sigh of relief.  An hour later, when he’d heard no noise from the cockpit again, he knew he finally had a chance to try and prepare and escape.  The moment the ship landed, he would be ready</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arriving at Nevarro was going to be a relief.  She could finally offload this bounty, get paid, and not have two pairs of big brown eyes constantly staring at her when the two extra mouths they were attached to weren’t going through all of her rations.  The green kid was like a bottomless pit and while Djarin never pestered Cara for more food than she gave him, the kid had no qualms about demanding more for his caretaker.  The one time Cara refused the kid reached out and the ration bar was yanked right out of her hands by an invisible force.  After that, she just handed over the damn food.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After all, she figured, they might as well spend these last few days in some semblance of comfort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shoved that thought away, trying to think of the one million credits instead.  But it was getting harder.  She was staying awake as much as possible to keep an eye on her bounty and avoid her dreams, but it meant when she finally crashed all she could see was fire and ash and the faces of the others in the shuttle with her, staring down at their home, unable to return.  And then when she woke up it was to watch a man kindly dote on a tiny little child, reassuring him constantly, even though as soon as the kid was asleep Cara saw plenty of worry and fear on the man’s face, and knew that she was the cause.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another thought to shove away.  She knew there would be tough jobs when she switched career over to hunter, because if she had to play bodyguard to some idiot spice lord’s son one more time she was going to snap and strangle someone and get herself killed.  At least with hunting she got to travel and had some freedom, even if there were times where she had to bring in someone to a fate she’d rather not think about.  This was not any different.  She wouldn’t let it be any different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara turned her attention to the ship controls.  The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> had made it to Nevarro, though it was slower than ever.  She’d have to reserve a chunk of the reward for ship repairs; readout after readout was complaining to her about all sorts of issues.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> dropped out of hyperspace with its customary groan and shudder of protest, the grey orb of Nevarro looming ahead.  Cara was about to fly in when she felt a touch on her leg.  She immediately looked down, grasping at her blaster, but it was only the child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed.  “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It patted her leg again, then reached its arms up, as if expecting her to hold it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” said Cara, quickly looking away from those big brown innocent eyes and nudging it with her foot again.  Carefully of course, only because she couldn’t damage the goods.  “Shoo.  Go find your buddy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She refocused on starting to fly in, pausing when her comm started beeping.  She glanced over to answer it, and locked eyes with the child, its hand outstretched to the shifter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh-uh,” Cara said.  “Don’t even think about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child stared directly at her, and inched its hand towards the knob at the end of the shifter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said no!” said Cara, and just as she was about to grab him, Djarin popped into the cockpit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are!” he exclaimed, scrambling all the way up the ladder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re supposed to be watching him,” grumbled Cara as Djarin plucked the little fiend from the dashboard and cradled him close.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was asleep.  He ran off on me,” said Djarin, smiling at and bouncing the kid a little, who cooed with absolutely no sign of guilt.  It was adorable, so Cara turned sharply away and hit the comm button unnecessarily hard.  “Shut up.  I’m taking a call.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A small holographic Greef Karga flickered into view.  “Cara.  I saw the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span>’s signal in the system and wanted to check in.  A pit stop, or are you bringing me good news?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good news,” says Cara, finally feeling that familiar pride of a job well done.  “I have them both.  I’m bringing them to you now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good, good,” said Greef.  “Although, actually…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Cara asked dangerously.  “I want to unload them soon as I arrive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The client has requested you bring them to him directly.  He doesn’t much care for middlemen, apparently.  Something about wanting to see the hunter who caught them himself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Greef,” Cara ground out through her teeth.  “Greef, I swear, if you’re pranking me -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cara, I tried to dissuade him but he insisted.  Just go, bite your tongue, and get paid.  He’s antsy, he wants them, it’ll be fast.  Here’s the coordinates.  Find me after if you need me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” Cara growled, and cut the transmission.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment the only sound was the ship’s usual rumbles.  But then Djarin said, so softly it could barely be heard, “I know you hate the Imperials.  You don’t have to do this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara didn’t answer.  She’d been begged by bounties for mercy before.  She kept her mouth resolutely shut, because that’s what she usually did, and because this time she was afraid of what she’d say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were with the Rebellion.  You know what the Empire has done.  I don’t even know what they were going to do with this kid but it can’t be anything good.  At least let him go.  Please -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go below,” said Cara, not looking at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid whined softly, but Djarin obeyed, carrying the kid below with him.  Cara focused on the planet ahead, angling for the nighttime side to reach the coordinates Greef had given her, which turned out to just be the town.  The Imperial compound was right there in town where she’d been working this whole time.  Her skin prickled uncomfortably at the thought, and she touched her face to make sure she had another layer of face paint on.  She’d been keeping it on all the time ever since Djarin had noticed her facial tattoo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She angled the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> down, tuning out the usual cacophony of noise that had been getting worse since her weeks-long chase after Djarin and the child.  She really would have to find a mechanic, possibly before she left Nevarro again.  She scowled at the thought.  She’d have to get good and drunk first.  Especially when the lines of lava glowing among the black rocks reminded her of the last of the fire from the explosion, dying embers of Alderaan dancing before her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The landing pad was empty enough.  She settled a little back from town, like she usually preferred.  She ran the ship through its landing cycle, ignoring the loud complaints except to note they seemed to have gotten much worse since the other day.  But finally it was done and it was time to turn in her quarry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara turned to go down the ladder, only to find the cockpit sealed.  And when she pressed the button to open the hatch, it didn’t budge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No.  No way.  She slammed it again, but the hatch was locked.  “Djarin!” she roared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no answer, but the sound of someone scrambling through the hold below was answer enough.  Cara swore, kicking the hatch, but she had to move fast.  She could hear him moving; she’d guess that he was trying to figure out the unlock sequence for the ramp, and since she was lazy and kept it simple, and he’d definitely seen her use it back on Arvala-7, it wouldn’t take him long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara leaped over the hatch and raced into the back, to the escape pod’s door.  She ducked through the tiny entrance, fumbling with her blaster settings as she pulled it out and cursing herself for not having any other weaponry on her.  She’d gotten complacent and it was stupid of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her only advantage was that this had happened once before, with another hunter who’d tried to screw her out of the reward.  Hopefully this same trick would work again.  Squeezing through the cramped escape pod, she hit in the code to pop the emergency hatch.  Shoving it open the second it released with a hiss, she clambered onto the top of the ship.  Running along the silvery hull, she reached the edge just in time to see the ramp open, Djarin stepping out with the child in his arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Biting her lip and praying the dampeners in her boots would keep up with this maneuver, Cara sat down and slid down the side of the ship, wincing as her feet slammed hard into the ground, but keeping her footing and arming her blaster with an audible click before aiming it directly at his back.  “Don’t even think about it, Djarin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He froze, glancing over his shoulder.  He’d stolen several of her ration bars and slung them in a bag over his back, as well as what looked like some mechanical parts.  The kid peeked out over his shoulder, but Djarin kept his body between her and his child.  “You can’t do this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I really can,” said Cara.  “Come quietly.  I’m not gonna ask again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid thrust out a hand at her, but this time she was ready.  Cara planted her feet and clenched her hands as the invisible force hit her, faltering but not falling, her blaster still in her hand.  She raised it again.  “Don’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin clutched the kid close as it slumped against him.  “Please.  Please don’t do this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara shot him in the face.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the wait, work has been kicking my ass and so did this chapter.  Not sorry for the cliffhanger! :P</p>
<p>I took some liberties with the Razor Crest but 1. I assume Din has some sort of cleaning device, since he gets de-mudded after the mudhorn 2.  The Razor Crest Lego set has the escape pod so that's "canon" enough for me to include it.  Hopefully season 2 gives us a better look at the ship!</p>
<p>The Baby Yoda Commentary:<br/>YOU ARE MEAN TO MY DAD AND I HATE YOU<br/>But you made Dad feel better?  And gave him food?  You are.... maybe not mean?  I am confused<br/>Feed my dad more, motherfuckaaaa<br/>Dad wtf are you doing.  Don't leave meeeee<br/>Wait we get to play?  This isn't so bad after all!<br/>What's up here?  The hunter's here... and she has..... A SHINY BALL<br/>MUST. HAVE. SHINY. BALL<br/>NO DAD I WANT THE SHINY BALL<br/>We're leaving?  Okay good.  Get the food<br/>No, no!  Don't hurt my dad! :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cara delivers the bounties and faces what she's done.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Cara’s steps slowed. She told herself it was because she had the whimpering baby tucked in one arm, and Djarin slung over her other shoulder like a sack of meilooruns, still unconscious from the stun blast she'd hit him with. But the closer she got to the Imperial compound, the slower her feet dragged.  Her jaw hurt and she realized she was clenching her teeth so hard she could hear them scraping against each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a whine and she looked down.  The child’s ears drooped down and he cried softly again, claws tugging on her sleeve.  Cara tried to look away but those huge eyes caught her in their depths, pleading with her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A groan from somewhere around her waist broke the spell.  Cara dumped Djarin unceremoniously to the ground.  “You awake?  Get up.  I’m tired of carrying your ass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked sluggishly at her.  The kid wailed, reaching for Djarin, so Cara handed him over against her better judgment.  One last kindness to soothe her conscience, nothing more.  She grabbed Djarin’s collar and hauled him up.  “Come on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stumbled along, unprotesting, just clutching the kid tightly.   Cara dragged him up to the coordinates she’d been given, a plain-looking building, completely the same as every other one in the area.  But when she stopped and stared, wondering if she should knock, a TT-8L droid popped out, scanned her, and when it retreated the door opened and two stormtroopers walked out instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara’s grip tightened on the blaster at her hip, swallowing the hot anger at that familiar uniform rising in her throat.  “I’m delivering the bounty, as requested.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One motioned for her to follow, and the other fell into position behind.  Cara’s back burned like a target had been drawn on it, but she forced herself to walk.  The door ahead was like a black maw.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Djarin stumbled as she pulled him along by his collar.  The stormtrooper behind them reached out to push him forward, but Cara yanked him along.  “I got it,” she said roughly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She followed the first stormtrooper through the claustrophobic hall and into an oversized, barren room with a desk in the center, where an elderly man stood, trailed by a younger one wearing glasses and some uniform she didn’t recognize.  But the Imperial sigil stamped into the gold medallion on the old man’s chest was unmistakable, as much as the other stormtroopers filing into the room.  There was no denying what she was doing here, with this client.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, yes, yes,” said the Client, standing and approaching, his eyes fixed greedily on the green child.  It shrunk back into the arms holding it, Djarin tensing and clutching the kid tightly.  The man in glasses leaned in to scan it, smiling and saying “Perfectly healthy” as the child flinched away from the scanner’s red light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Greef Karga told me that if anyone could get the job done, it would be you,” the Client said, catching Cara’s attention away from her bounties.  “He said you were one of his best.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara’s jaw worked before she finally spit out, “I get the job done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So I’ve heard.  I looked up your record, Carasynthia Dune.  Impressive.  Very impressive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara clenched her fists so tight it hurt, Djarin even pulling against the grip she had on him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For pacifists, the people of Alderaan always had such spirit in them.  I am glad it has survived, and been turned towards better pursuits than pointless rebellion.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t say anything.  All she could see was the explosion and the scattering rock and the fire, the stardust streaking past the shuttle window, her throat tightening closed as she remembered wondering that that dust was all that remained of her mother and father and brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She refocused to see the Client pulling out a datapad.  “The money will be transferred into your Guild account, of course,” he said.  “But for all your hard work, I wanted to give you a personal token of my appreciation.”  He withdrew a pouch from his robes, and when Cara stretched out her hand, poured several Imperial credits into her palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“From the old Empire,” the Client said proudly.  “A worthy prize for a hunter who would’ve done so well if she had had the fortune to work for us then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They each had the Imperial sigil stamped on them.  Cara clenched the credits in her fist, but despite the glove it still felt like the sigil was being branded onto her skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Client motioned to the stormtroopers, who closed in.  Cara’s fingers were still locked in place around Djarin’s collar, but she forced them to let go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The second she did, Djarin kicked out at one of the stormtroopers, dropping the trooper and bolting for the door.  Another grabbed him and he wrenched out of their grasp, but then two more snatched him, reaching for the baby, who screamed in terror.  Djarin twisted away, elbowing one in the throat and headbutting the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get the child!” cried the man in glasses.  “Don’t let him be hurt!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara wanted to look away, to leave, but once again the child’s huge dark eyes caught her.  They were wide and frightened and the little one howled as more stormtroopers closed in, shaking off Djarin’s hits and grabbing him by the arms so that one of the troopers could snatch the little baby out of his protector’s grasp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” shouted Djarin, trying to wrench out of the troopers’ hands.  The baby cried desperately, reaching out for him, and there was a shiver in the air and suddenly the troopers holding Djarin let go and stumbled back, and for one moment Cara thought Djarin was going to succeed in reclaiming the child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But another trooper to the side recovered and slammed the butt of his rifle into Djarin’s face, and the man in glasses popped a bag over the child, muffling the wails inside as he bundled the frightened baby away to a side hallway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Djarin yelled, running after him, but three more troopers jumped him, grabbed him, and shocked him with electroprods.  Djarin collapsed on the floor, twitching slightly, unable to do anything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take him away.  We need to find out what he has seen it do, and everyone who might know about the asset now,” ordered the Client.  He turned back to Cara.  “Were you interested in another job...?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”  She clenched her fist around her money and turned her back to all of them, the Imps and the kid and Din Djarin unconscious on the floor, and walked away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There she is!” shouted Greef as soon as Cara walked into the cantina.  “My best hunter!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was staring at her now, some in a none too friendly manner, so Cara simply tossed a handful of druggats on the bar.  “A double round for everyone here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now everyone was cheering, and she could walk over to Greef’s customary booth in peace as the other hunters and patrons swarmed the bartender.  “Welcome back, Cara!” said Greef, grinning broadly at her.  “I knew if anyone could bring him in, it would be you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara shrugged, motioning for one of the waiter droids to attend her.  “Strongest stuff you have.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greef chuckled.  “Long hunt?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara just gave him a sour look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’d think the richest woman on Nevarro would have a better attitude about her newfound wealth.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be happier when I’m the drunkest woman on Nevarro,” said Cara, accepting the cup from the waiter droid and telling it “Bring me another” before swallowing the entire contents in one gulp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was he really that difficult?” asked Greef with a laugh.  “I was sure he’d put up a fight, but still, that bad?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.  He’s a good fighter.”  She tried to think of that first time he’d kicked her ass, how pissed she’d been that some scrawny mechanic had won against her.  But all she could think about was how kind he was to that poor little child, how gently he always held and fed it, the sweet smile he had just for it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what did the Client want?  Just to get the bounty offloaded quicker than going through me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some bullshit about seeing whoever brought them in.  And giving me some credits personally, as a </span>
  <em>
    <span>token of appreciation.”</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Cara spit the words out as she took the next cup the waiter droid brought her.  “More.  In a bigger glass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The druggats?  Some token of appreciation,” said Greef dryly.  “I may have to discuss my commission with them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara threw back her drink.  “They gave me Imperial credits.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not just Imperial credits, Hrerri had told her when she’d gone straight to him to rid herself of them and exchange them for different currency.  These were classic chits from the height of the Empire, worth more than their original value.  “You could sell these to collectors for a pretty penny.  Are you sure?” asked Hrerri, which was how Cara knew he was telling the truth; he usually was happy to take advantage of customers but must’ve been wary of any repercussions if he screwed her over potentially this much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucky for him, she just never wanted to see the damn things again.  “Just pay me what they’re worth in druggats.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was certain Hrerri had probably cheated her out of a chunk of credits, but she didn’t care.  She had enough to drink until she couldn’t see straight, or stand, or even think.  “Keep ’em coming until I pass out,” she instructed the waiter droid, throwing back something else that burned in her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see you intend on celebrating a job well done,” chuckled Greef.  “I’ll drink to that.  A toast to Cara Dune!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cara Dune!” everyone else said, raising a glass, happy to spend her money on drinks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, so was she.  Cara drank, and drank, and drank.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cara woke up in the cantina’s back room with a horrible taste in her mouth, the worst headache she’d ever experienced, her stomach doing somersaults, and only vague memories of the rest of the night.  She’d drank so much she’d lost count of the cups, bought several more rounds for the other patrons, and even picked some fights for show.  A mix of currency in her belt pouch indicated she must’ve won some coin off it, but she couldn’t remember.  Everything was fuzzy.  She didn’t even remember renting this room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the Imperial compound, the child’s terrified face, Djarin twitching on the floor - those memories were still crystal clear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shoved the images out of her mind, managing to avoid puking in the vac tube and scrubbing her face clean instead to try and wake herself up.  The face paint flaked off easily, like it always did when she didn’t refresh it often enough, revealing her Alliance tattoo.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t the kind of thing to flaunt in the Outer Rim, in Cara’s experience.  Feelings towards the New Republic were often mixed.  But Djarin had smiled at her when he’d seen it, talking about the celebrations with his mother.  His mother who was back on Tatooine, who probably didn’t even know yet that she was never going to see her son again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara scrubbed harder at her face, as if that would make her forget.  The Alliance symbol looked mocking on her face now, after she’d sold her services for Imperial credits.  She’d been disillusioned when she’d left the New Republic, sure.  Done things she wasn’t exactly proud of and that didn’t live up to the ideals it was supposed to have.  But when she’d walked away from the New Republic army, she’d sworn she’d never do anything for the Imps, no matter what.  She hadn’t even been able to keep that promise.  She could almost see the green kid staring at her reproachfully with those strange too-aware eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This is the Outer Rim,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she reminded herself as she reapplied the face paint.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>You do what you have to do to survive.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bartender was cleaning as she walked out.  “It’s almost noon.  Thought you were dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No you didn’t; you would’ve raided my corpse,” said Cara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bartender just laughed, his waiter droids scurrying around behind him.  “I’ll open early if you’re hungry.  Just made some stew if you want a bowl.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara set some credits on the bar.  “Whatever you were giving me last night, I want the whole bottle.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her entire life, Cara had had to budget for what she wanted.  She’d done better at jobs lately, but things like ship repairs and fancy weaponry would set her back still if she wasn’t careful.  But now, walking through the market, she knew she could afford anything on display easily.  The finest foods, the rarest treasures, even the prized Lethan twins at the Twi’lek healing baths.  She could have anything she wanted.  But now, she had no idea what to buy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had enough to retire now.  So what did she need with more weaponry?  She kept her gear in good shape and it got the job done better than the fancy shit anyway.  She supposed she could buy an entire fancy glaze cake, but that just made her think of eating it for her birthday with her family on Alderaan, and she knew it would only taste like ash in her mouth.  She almost went to the Twi’lek healing baths, but the doorman today was a bright green shade all too close to the child she’d handed over to the Imps, so she turned away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara wandered aimlessly, only to find herself passing by a toy stall.  A little girl was tugging her on her father’s coat.  “Can I have it, Papa?  Please?” she begged, pointing up at a shiny silver ball hanging up in the stand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well…”  The father hesitated, counting credits in his hand, but then smiled.  “I think we have enough, sweetheart, if that’s the one you want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Papa!” squealed the girl as her father bought the toy and handed it over, both of their brown eyes bright as he scooped up his little one into his arms to kiss her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara turned away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knew the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> was in dire need of a tune-up, she needed to restock provisions, and probably some other things she’d remember when her hangover completely cleared up, but all she wanted right now was to leave Nevarro behind and have some other task to occupy her brain for when she couldn’t fog it up with alcohol.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A job.  A job would keep her busy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greef looked surprised when she wandered back into the bar.  “Cara!  Can’t believe you’re not off enjoying your winnings.  Or are you buying everyone drinks again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stood in front of his table.  “I want a job.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greef raised his eyebrows.  “A job?  I thought you were going to retire.  Or at least spend the next week lounging in here when you weren’t at the Twi’lek healing baths.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What part of ‘I want a job’ was confusing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The part where you’re always bitching about the work and wishing you had enough credits to retire,” said Greef, resting his head on one of his hands.  “Why the change of heart?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like beating up mechanics now,” she said, trying to say it lightly, but unable to get Djarin’s face out of her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cara, just because they’re Imperial credits doesn’t mean you didn’t earn them fair and square.  You’re not the first hunter to have this issue.  Trust me, it’s easier just to look at the druggats and pretend that’s all they ever were.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara spoke through gritted teeth.  “Give me a fucking job.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, fine.  Though don’t blame me when the others get mad at you for hogging the jobs they could use.”  He passed her a puck.  “Bail jumper, several systems away.  Easy and cheap.  The Guild’ll revolt if I give you another high payer so soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t care.  I just want a job,” says Cara, swiping the puck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No rush on that.  Take your time and cool off.”  Greef shrugs.  “You may not like it, but working with the Empire is just part of the gig sometimes.  It’s no big deal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara knew he was honestly trying to make her feel better, and that was the only reason she didn’t punch him in the face.  Instead she gripped the puck until the edges dug into her palm and stalked back to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Usually it was a relief to walk back up that ramp and return to the one space that was truly her own.  But, she quickly realized, it wasn’t her own anymore.  She went to the ’fresher to clean up and just ended up staring at the sink, remembering the little baby splashing around in it, so happy and completely trusting that as long as he was with his caretaker, he was safe.  Knowing that she’d destroyed that… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned away, but of course she just faced the corner that had unofficially become Djarin’s.  He sat there quietly enough, except for when the kid wanted attention.  Then he was all smiles and laughter, playing games with and cuddling his green charge, anything to make the child happy.  Even though he was scared himself; she saw it on his face when the kid was asleep and he didn’t think she was looking.  He would’ve done anything to protect that child, even to the end.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>We need to find out what he has seen it do, and everyone who might know about the asset now,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Client had said.  A shiver ran down Cara’s spine.  She knew what that meant.  She had no doubt that Djarin wouldn’t talk - and that the Imperials wouldn’t ask nicely.  And stars only knew what they were doing to that poor baby… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The job.  She needed to think about the job, and nothing else.  She took a long swig from the first bottle she located and headed up into the cockpit, flopping into her seat and focusing on nothing but preparing the ship.  Automatically flipping switches and pressing buttons and reaching for the lever with the silver ball the kid had been so interested in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Cara growled, leaning back in her seat and raking her hand through her hair.  Everywhere in the damn ship there was something to remind her.  She tilted her head back, the setting sun burning against her vision like an exploding star.  She squeezed her eyes shut, for once willing to, because that always chased everything else out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she finally couldn’t see Alderaan anymore.  Just the two she’d betrayed and abandoned to the Empire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I have to go back,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Cara realized.</span>
  <em>
    <span>  I have to go back.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Gee, Cara, you think???</p>
<p>Just a note since Season 2 started airing, this whole fic was planned/outlined before so this should be a safe spoiler-free fic for season 2 (unless I accidentally activate my canon predicting powers again).  And thank you for your patience, I try not to make it too long between chapters but my writing time is limited and I don't have a buffer for this one.</p>
<p>The Baby Yoda Commentary would be extremely unfun this time, so let's just go with "HEY!  I SENSED THERE WAS STILL SOME GOOD IN YOU!!  HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME AND MY DAD???"</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cara goes back.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>This was stupid.  Incredibly stupid.  Monumentally stupid.  Any other hunter in the Guild would solve any inconvenient feelings with alcohol or spice and call it a day.  All she was gonna do was lose her Guild license and get herself killed, or worse, captured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Cara couldn’t stop.  She adjusted her jumpsuit, strapped on her armor, covered her Alliance tattoo with a swipe of face paint.  At least looking at it in the mirror no longer felt like an accusation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knew there were plenty of stormtroopers in that compound, but she’d killed plenty of those before.  Of course, there were a lot, and she was just one person, and who knew what else was waiting in that hellish compound.  Even if the Empire was scattered and broken, she’d heard plenty of horror stories of what prisoners could be subjected to, and there were still many shady agents loose in the galaxy.  No telling what the Client had up his sleeve or what she was walking into.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, she wouldn’t be walking in totally unprepared.  She practically stripped the armory, loading herself up with everything she could.  Her trusty moddable blaster rifle, now set up for good reliable laser blasts instead of darts or bolts.  Her own blaster pistol, and an extra, so that she could arm Djarin and hope he wouldn’t shoot her the second he had the chance.  A couple vibroknives on her boots, some bombs on her belt, and she even tucked the last few poison darts into an extra sheath.  They clearly worked and the Imps deserved a taste of their own medicine as far as she was concerned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sun was setting as she walked out of the ship, but the bright light wasn’t distracting her now.  She went into town, avoiding the main roads and anyone she knew, tracing her steps back to the coordinates she’d been sent to before.  Once again she found herself in front of that plain building from before, the nondescript door somehow still ominous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She squared her shoulders.</span>
  <em>
    <span>  Let’s do this.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stomped up to the door and banged on it, hard.  As soon as the TT-8L droid popped out, she leaned back from the photoreceptors, ripped it off, and threw it down the alley.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She only had to wait about ten seconds before two stormtroopers came out to see what the fuss was about.  Cara grabbed both their helmets before they could raise their weapons and knocked them together.  A quick vibroknife slice took care of each and she strode inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More white armor coming at her, bottlenecked in the narrow hall, shouting about intruders.  She shot them down with her blaster pistol before they could get in position; picking them off was child’s play and they toppled like toys.  She slung the rifle off her back as she walked into the large room; the Client’s desk was there but no Client, just a half-dozen stormtroopers with their blasters raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Surrender!” said the middle one.  “Or -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara mowed them down without letting him finish.  She’d heard enough Imperial bullshit before.  A shot pinged off her shoulder but she ignored the sting, striding between the smoking corpses to figure out where the hell they’d stashed Djarin and the baby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe she could’ve thought this out a little better.  But it was too late now.  She opened the first door she came to and saw nothing but crates, though she could hear footsteps and shouting throughout the compound now.  Better hurry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Next door had a pair of troopers, which were easily taken out, and so did the next and the next.  Cara felt doubt itch up her spine.  This was very stupid, she could easily be trapped in this maze, and what if they’d been moved already?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned down another hall and the next door was locked, so she shot it open and was almost immediately blasted by the trooper inside.  A headshot took care of him and she almost blasted the next person she saw too, but it was the man in glasses so she just pressed her blaster to his forehead instead.  “Where are they?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-n-n-no,” he whimpered, “P-p-p-please -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna ask again,” Cara warned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I - I d-don’t know -” he whispered, glancing at a door to the side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara whipped the blaster across his face and when that didn’t knock him down, snatched one of the darts from her belt and stabbed him in the neck with it for good measure, letting him collapse to the floor and giving him a good kick before leaving him to sob in pain and heading to the door he’d indicated.  It opened as soon as she shot the lock, revealing a bare medical table that looked huge against the tiny baby lying in its center.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The stormtrooper guarding it fumbled for his weapon to shoot her, but Cara kicked him in the gut and slammed his head into the wall, shattering it, before he could stop her.  She hurried over to the table.  “Don’t be dead, please don’t be dead…  Kid, wake up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child didn’t move, but Cara could see he was breathing.  Carefully she wrapped him up in the blanket he was lying on and awkwardly positioned him in the crook of her elbow.  This was going to limit her fighting capability.  She needed to find Djarin, and fast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She kept the kid pressed to her side as she kicked open the next door, back into another hallway, and shot the two stormtroopers she saw.  Another grabbed her from behind but she slammed him backwards into the wall, cursing as she had to spin and kick the damn trooper in the knee to get him off her, shooting him to finish the job.  She glanced down but the kid still didn’t wake despite being squished between her arm and side.  She readjusted him and kept going.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How many fucking doors were in this place?!  She opened another, and another, finding a room with more medical equipment, several with storage crates marked with a fading Imperial logo, and of course stormtroopers everywhere. They went down easy enough but there was always another.  Her pauldron was smoking from multiple hits, her elbow was sore from slamming into an armored throat, there was a graze against her cheek, and she knew full well she’d been lucky so far.  They’d start organizing soon, and if they boxed her in one of these narrow hallways, things would go bad real fast.  She had to find Djarin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, kid,” she said, jostling him just a little.  If he woke up maybe he could lead her straight to his beloved caretaker.  But the kid didn’t move, so Cara kept going.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was three more doors and eight stormtroopers before Cara started getting seriously worried.  This place was a maze, she had no escape plan, and for all she knew Djarin had already been executed.  And if so, then what?  What was she supposed to do with this kid?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was interrupted by a stormtrooper walking out of the next room and jumping her.  She barely turned in time to keep him off the kid, wrenching away from the hand trying to get a grip on her throat and slamming the trooper with her shoulder.  He punched her in the face, forcing her back to roll with it, and she barely got her knife out in time to angle it as his gut as he tried to attack her again.  He groaned and she kicked him down to the ground with no small amount of satisfaction before getting out her blaster pistol and heading to the door he’d come out of, ready for more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead all she could see was the terrifying black orb of an Imperial torture droid, buzzing and heading right for her.  Cara turned the kid away and shot it a dozen times, making it drop in a shower of sparks, and when she blinked the light out of her eyes she saw that past it was an Imperial torture table with Djarin in it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was pale and there was a nasty burn on his throat but he was breathing and starting to blink.  “Wake up!” Cara snapped, fumbling at the locks one-handed to get him out.  “We gotta move.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cara?” he asked groggily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t move,” Cara said, and finally shot the damn locks and pulled him out of the table, shoving the kid into his arms.  “Hold this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That seemed to wake him up as he stared down at the bundled-up child.  “Is he -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s alive but none of us are gonna be for much longer if we don’t move.  Can you shoot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blinked, trying to focus on her face.  “I guess?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’ll do.”  Hoping she wouldn’t regret this, because he’d clearly been dosed with a strong cocktail of whatever Imps used to try and make people talk, Cara shoved her spare blaster into his hand.  “Do not shoot me, just the guys in white.  Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was stumbling and barely able to stand; Cara yanked his arm over her shoulder to better pull him along out of the room.  She could hear movement down the hall and they had to move.  She considered.  “Do you know if there’s a way out that way?” she asked, nodding ahead to where she hadn’t gone yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t answer, his eyes unfocused.  “Hey, Djarin, focus.  Can we get out that way?”  Cara jostled him.  “Hey.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Din.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced down the hallway.  “Don’t know.  Didn’t go that far.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We better go the way we came in then,” said Cara, pulling him along back the other way.  “Hurry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to keep up with her, but Cara knew he had to have been drugged and likely electroshocked, bare minimum, if Imperial torture protocols were still the same as when she was trained on them.  She supported him as best she could while still keeping her blaster out and ready, rushing as fast as she could back to the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Troopers,” hissed Din, and she heard them tromping behind the same time he did and ducked into a side room, crouching behind a pile of crates.  It was hard to see with no light and nothing but a small window high up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked at it, then back on Din, who was still staring at it before meeting her eyes and making it clear he was thinking the same thing she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get behind these,” Cara said, dumping him behind several crates and letting him crouch there with the kid while she pulled a trio of bombs off her belt, set them to the shortest timer she dared, and slapping them on the wall.  She barely jumped behind the crate pile in time as the wall blew out into chunks and alarms started screeching through the compound.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is why I escaped you,” Din said, his words slurring a little.  “I always heard you coming.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up and move.”  Cara dragged him to his feet by his collar and pulled him along through the rubble and out into the street.  He grabbed on to her shoulder to support himself and together they hurried through the darkened back alleys.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How far?” Din asked, glancing down at the child, who despite the commotion showed no signs of waking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Across town.  Hurry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They went as fast as they could manage with Din still stumbling and drugged.  Cara knew the back ways, at least, hiding them in narrow alleys and between buildings.  The length of the trip was nothing compared to the sprawling paths of House Organa's historical palace on Apalis Coast, but right now it felt twice as long.  The Imps had to know they were gone and in a town that was a bounty hunter hive, of course they’d contact the Guild, and then… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara evaded the first hunter by yanking Din down another back alley, the second by hiding them behind a dumpster, but then the third and fourth were so close together it was sheer luck they didn’t get seen, and the fifth had a fob beeping in his hand, and then -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then there were no more alleys, and Cara found herself stepping out onto the main road, more hunters slipping out of the shadows to join her.  The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> was dead ahead, parked where she’d left it, but between her and it stood Greef Karga and several of his best hunters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dune,” said Greef evenly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Karga,” she returned, assessing her options.  They weren’t good.  Din was leaning on her and breathing heavily, clutching the kid and the blaster but not in any state to do much.  She only had one arm free, limiting what she could do, and Greef had clearly brought out the cavalry.  All his hunters were there.  She’d beaten plenty of them, at catching bounties or just one of the betting fights in the cantina.  But all of them together, surrounding her with weapons drawn, was another story.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I tried to be understanding, Dune,” said Greef.  “We all know your feelings about the Empire, since you announce them every chance you get.  But this is ridiculous.  You knew what the job was going in and you took it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara kept her blaster trained on him.  “I changed my mind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You broke the Guild code,” Greef said harshly.  “Enough.  You’re my best hunter and I could still use you.  Hand over the bounties, and we’ll put this behind us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t do that,” Cara said shortly, glancing between hunters.  But she couldn’t see a way out.  They were completely hemmed in, and there would be no making a run for it with Din barely able to stand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s either me or the Imps, Cara.  Your choice.”  Greef motioned to a nearby droid wagon.  “Hand over the bounties.  Now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara looked over at the wagon.  The droid beeped solemnly at her, its photoreceptor light gleaming brightly and highlighting a faulty plug on its middle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stepped forward.  Din dug his heels in, eyes wide, but Cara tugged him a little closer - just enough to move her blaster, shoot the plug, and blow the wagon up, scattering hunters everywhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Run!” she shouted, pulling Din along, and he stumbled alongside her.  Cara fired blindly through the smoke, Din raising his blaster enough to fire off a few shots as well.  She coughed, blinking through the acrid smoke from the exploded droid, but she could see the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest</span>
  </em>
  <span> ahead.  “Come on, we can make it!”  Maybe if she lied enough it would come true -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara howled as the blaster bolt ripped its way through her calf, sending her to her knees and pulling Din along with her.  She looked behind and the trick may have bought her time from the other hunters, but not Greef.  He always knew all the tricks and he was a damn good shot.  His blaster was trained right at her head now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cara, enough,” Greef said, the other hunters appearing behind him.  “Last chance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked over at Din, wondering if ordering him to run for it was worth it.  He wasn’t even looking at her or the hunters.  He was just holding the kid, looking down at that innocent sleeping face, as if that was the last thing he wanted to see.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara’s throat tightened.  This had been stupid.  The stupidest thing she’d ever done, and probably the last.  But she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.  There was nothing left to do but see it through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on,” Cara said roughly, pulling Din to his feet; he grabbed the baby as soon as she made him move.  She was between him and Greef and Greef couldn’t see her speak.  “When you get the chance, run for it,” she whispered.  He just stared and she didn’t understand the look.  Maybe he was still drugged as fuck and she was about to waste her life for nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d only have one shot before she got mowed down and she had to make it count.  She hated the idea of shooting Greef; he’d always been fair to her and put up with her temper better than any other superior she’d had.  But it was the only option that might throw the other hunters into confusion and she had no choice.  At least Greef was an excellent shot and would probably take her down with him, so she wouldn’t have to stew over one more person she’d failed for very long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara adjusted her blaster, her finger firmly on the trigger.  Just one more shot.  Just one more move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Go!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she told Din, spinning around, and barely stopped herself from firing as a massive blue-armored Mandalorian rocketed down right in front of her and started gunning down hunters.  They scattered instantly, even Greef, ducking for cover or dying on the way there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Paz?!” shouted Cara over the loud gunfire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go, Cara!” Paz yelled back.  “Go!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wanted to say so much to her friend but there was no time.  Din was already running for the ship and Cara sprinted after, easily catching up to the stumbling man and grabbing him just before he tripped and fell on his unsteady legs.  They clung to each other the last few meters, storming up the ramp; Cara slapped the door controls to close it and paused long enough to drop Din, still clutching the kid, in the hold before running up into the cockpit.  The ship groaned to life as Cara’s hands raced over the controls; a pull on the joysticks and it rocketed up into the sky, shaking with the sudden movement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara flew up, up, higher and faster, leaving Nevarro behind and seeing nothing but the fading clouds and stars ahead.  Only when she plotted in a short random jump and escaped the planet’s gravity and threw the ship into hyperspace did she finally feel like she could breathe again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She went back below, her hands still shaking from adrenaline and slipping a little on the rungs.  Din was lying on the floor, looking pale and shaken, but with the kid still safely held in his arms and wrapped in its blanket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara grabbed a spare blanket and draped it over him.  “The Imperial drugs will stay in your system for a bit.  Just sleep it off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din blinked, but despite the sluggish way he was looking around he had no trouble focusing on her.  “Why?” he demanded.  “You turn us in… you get us out… Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” said Cara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes drooped shut and his breathing evened out.  Cara sat down with a grunt, pain blossoming through her leg.  The shot had hit the side rather than going through, but it still hurt like a bitch.  Too much for her to really want to get up, even to get the medkit.  Fuck it, she’d just sit here, she felt like she was about to have a serious adrenaline crash and pass out anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was movement from the blanket bundle.  It turned, an ear popped out, and then two dark depthless eyes were suddenly fixed on her, as if the kid wanted to ask her why too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Cara said.  “It was just the right thing to do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid cooed, as if agreeing with her answer, and Cara knew she’d done right.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope the rescue rampage is satisfying!  I love a good rescue rampage.  Also from now on Din gets to be more coherent and active in the plot, so I'm sure he's happy.  Of course now and he and Cara gotta figure out what to do now that they're on the run from the Empire AND the Guild.</p>
<p>Man I am just a slow writer so I'm gonna stop lying and just admit it.  Updates happen when they happen.  Thank you for your patience.</p>
<p>Baby Yoda was out for this one again, so his only commentary:  "I knew there was still good in you.  But if you even fucking look at my dad again, I will stomp you to death with my magic hand."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The unlikely team stops on Tatooine.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Din could hear movement close by.  Fuck, the Imps were back, wanting to know about the kid… but he couldn’t tell them, no matter what - no matter what -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But when he cracked an eye open all he saw was a pair of un-Imperial feet limping by before his vision was filled with a chubby green face and two huge brown eyes, and his head cleared and he remembered he wasn’t on Nevarro anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, kid,” he said, his voice hoarse and raspy, but the kid didn’t care, immediately patting his face and chattering excitedly as Din pulled him close.  Din’s entire body still ached and the electric burns on his neck and hands stung like a bitch, but nothing was as important as pulling that little child safe into his arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child reached up for his neck, trying to touch, and Din leaned away.  “Nope, don’t, that hurts.”  He reached up to brush the skin gingerly but found it was already partially healed, a thin layer of burn gel still clinging to it.  He looked and the other burns on him had been similarly looked after.  He stared at the evidence of unexpected kindness for a moment before deciding it was the least the hunter could’ve done, since it was her fault he’d been tortured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced up at the cockpit.  Cara.  Her name was Cara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din sat up.  The kid immediately clambered into his lap, whining and tugging at his shirt.  “Well, guess we should see what she’s gonna do next,” Din said, looking up the ladder.  “Why do you think she came back?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child just cooed and chewed on his shirt.  Din staggered to his feet, pulling the blanket around his shoulders against the coldness of space, and took the kid with him as he went up into the cockpit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The hunter was in the pilot’s chair, one leg stretched out and left bare to show the bandages on it while she pulled up planets on the navicomputer.  Din ignored her bare legs and the pants draped over the nearest chair to watch as the stars lengthened into starlines and they were once again in the mottled blue realm of hyperspace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are we going?” he finally asked when Cara showed no sign of acknowledging him, setting the squirming kid down on the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lots of short jumps.  Making sure no one’s on our tail.  Since we’re now </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted by the Empire,” said Cara shortly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din said nothing, torn between thanking her and pointing out that she could’ve avoided this by not turning him in in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You feeling better?  I’m not having you puke on my floor,” Cara said without looking at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well you could always just turn me back in again if it’s that much trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara looked over her shoulder to give him a sour look.  “I’d be blasted into pieces if I go anywhere near that compound now.  Do you know how many stormtroopers and other Guild members I killed?  I’m way beyond blacklisted now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes.  “Well at least you can cry about it into your one million credits.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah I’d love to, if I had them,” snapped Cara, finally turning to face him.  He kept his eyes on her face.  “I’m locked out of my Guild account, laserbrain.  All I got now is whatever physical credits I had on the ship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice to know I was tortured for nothing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t have to go back for your sorry ass.  Try showing some gratitude.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah I’m very thankful to be chased for weeks, poisoned, dragged around this piece of shit ship, and turned over to Imps who tortured me before you got me back out.  Thank you </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much for doing the bare minimum to not be a complete asshole.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes narrowed angrily at him.  “I could fire you out into space and save myself the trouble of finding somewhere for us to land.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do I get any say in where you’re dumping me and the kid?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned back around.  “I’m still doing random jumps.  Masking our trail.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din leaned over to look at one of the warning lights on the console.  “You could try fixing that fuel leak first, see if that helps.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Cara said, batting him away.  “It’s fine, she’ll hold together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“With </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Bonding tape?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it bothers you that much, make yourself useful and fix something, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were interrupted by a faint pop.  They both looked over in time to see the kid, a guilty expression on his face and the knob from one of the levers clutched in his claws.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give me that,” Cara said grumpily, taking it out of his hands and replacing it on the lever.  “You need to watch him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din picked the kid up; she hadn’t hurt the kid so far but he didn’t care to test her limits.  “Just take us somewhere with a spaceport.  Then we don’t ever have to see each other again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, and let you tell some hunter my whereabouts?  No thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din snorted.  “So what, you just keep us here on the ship?  Do we get to stay free or do we get carbonited this time?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara ignored his comments.  “I know the Guild.  They’ll be sending out hunters.  Good ones, since I’m one of Greef’s best and because you have a rep of being hard to catch.  You won’t last a week without some form of transportation, and I could use an extra pair of eyes around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You expect me to work for you just because you freed me?  I wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara spun back around.  “No, I expect you to cooperate with me because it’s both our asses on the line otherwise!  And his,” she added, jabbing a finger at the kid.  “Did you think about that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din looked down at the kid, who looked back up at him, apparently unperturbed by the arguing.  He smiled a bit at Din and turned around to curl a tiny fist into Din’s shirt before pointing out at hyperspace, chattering a bit.  Din remembered the child being torn out of his arms, his cries as he’d been taken away, and his arms tightened around the kid.  He couldn’t let anyone find the child.  No matter what.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So where are you planning on going?” Din asked, keeping his voice even.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara turned back around, apparently placated.  “Some backwater skughole.  We can lie low for a bit, get off the radar, resupply.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should go to Tatooine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara glanced over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised skeptically.  “That sleemo hive?  I was thinking somewhere with less scum and villainy and more wilderness.  Easier to hide.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s easier to blend in a crowd.  Trust me, I’ve been on the run longer than you.  Besides we can resupply and get this piece of shit fixed so it can actually carry us without sounding like it’s about to break down at any moment.”  And he could see his mother.  He missed her so much, and if he was just going to have to run again, he wanted to see her before he did so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara looked like she knew his ulterior motive, but she just started setting the navicomputer.  “Fine.  Tatooine it is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine.”  He left it at that, turning around and going back below.  If he was going to see his mother he definitely needed to clean himself up, or he’d never hear the end of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t take long to reach Tatooine.  Cara supposed it really was as good a place as any, she just doubted the Hutts would be very eager to ignore a high-value target in their midst.  But Din was a mechanic and so was his mother, so they could fix up the ship, and if she indulged the little visit he’d hopefully put up less complaints when she picked a place to stay long-term.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t say she was happy about having him around, she thought as she went down the ladder to freshen herself up.  She preferred being alone, because it meant silence and not looking out for anyone but herself and -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>- and not walking in on anyone in her karking shower!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get out!” Din roared, slamming the door in her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s my ’fresher!  You get out!” Cara yelled back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck off!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara heard a coo and glanced down.  The kid looked up at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, is there a line?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid only chirruped in response, so Cara stomped back up to the cockpit and slouched in her chair instead to readjust her bandage and replace her pants.  This was ridiculous.  The sooner she could get rid of them, the better.  But for now it would be easier to evade their mutual enemies by sticking together.  And she really didn’t want Din getting recaptured - he could drop her location or information on her, and well, she hated to think she’d thrown away her entire bounty hunting career for nothing.  Even if he was a fucking shower hog.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ship squawked an alert at her and Cara mindlessly went through the process of leaving hyperspace and approaching the planet.  The golden orb of Tatooine was the same dustball it always was, far as she could tell.  It would have to do, though she still didn’t like the idea of showing her face, Din’s, or the kid’s in Mos Eisley, which was where she was directed to land.  “Bay 3-5.  Copy that,” she said with a sigh, flying the ship on the indicated course.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Landing in the empty hangar was simple enough; luckily no one wanted to be out in the sunlight right now, which was fine with Cara.  She swiped fresh paint under her eyes and slung her blaster rifle over her shoulder, glancing at the ’fresher door which was still closed.  “Hurry up, skugga!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m coming,” snapped Din.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara wasn’t about to wait for him, especially if she couldn’t get into her own damn ’fresher.  She lowered the ramp and stepped out and was nearly blinded by something smashing directly into her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mother</span>
  <em>
    <span>fucker!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she bellowed, clutching her forehead; warm blood already wetting her fingers.  “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck?!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“YOU!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> roared a familiar voice, and Cara blinked blood out of her eyes to see Din’s mother marching up to her, wrench in hand.  “You turned in my boy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shit, she definitely could not just shoot this woman with her son in the ship right behind her, much as she’d like to right now.  “Wait -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You turned him in to the Imps!  Do you even know what they could be doing to him right now?  Assuming he’s still alive and not - not -”  Peli only faltered for a moment before charging right at Cara, her wrench raised.  “I swear by the twin suns, you bantha-sniffing hortaa, I’ll -” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara lifted her arms to block the attack but just in time another hand stuck out and caught the wrench before it split her skull.  “Momma, no,” said Din firmly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peli froze with shock.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Din?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>  But - but the Hutt’s people said you’d been turned in…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She turned me in but then she got me out,” said Din with a smile.  “I’m okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Peli was a complete mess, hugging him tightly and blubbering about how worried she’d been and Cara turned away to try and stop her face from bleeding and not because she was suddenly remembering her own mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been worried sick, I didn’t know if you were dead or - or if they were torturing you, or -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine, Momma.  I just sat in a cell for a few hours.  Wasn’t so bad.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara did look over sharply at </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> blatant lie, but Din was just smiling.  He’d fixed his scarf up so it covered his neck and his hands were carefully wrapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what about - Oh!”  Peli all but shrieked in delight as the kid made his appearance, chirping for attention at the top of the ramp.  Peli ran right over to scoop him up.  “There you are, you little womp rat!  Are you being a good boy?  Was he hurt, Din?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think so,” said Din, smiling and playing with one of the ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stomped past the sickeningly sweet family reunion to finally get a turn in her own damn ’fresher so she could stop the blood still pouring out of her face.  Looking in the mirror showed a nasty but shallow cut; Cara got the bleeding to stop after going through a few rags and dabbing it with bacta gel.  She frowned; she was running low on the stuff and it wasn’t cheap.  Well, Din and his family had already inconvenienced her enough so far, what was one more thing?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She finally dared to venture back out, wary of more attacks from the feisty mechanic, but the little group had moved off into the shade and ignored her as she came back out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t just throw hydrospanners at people, Momma.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I damn well can, especially if she’s a bounty hunter who turned in my boy.  Why are you even still around her?  What if she turns you in again to save her own hide?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She can’t.  Burned all her bridges getting me out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t trust her.  And you shouldn’t either!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara cleared her throat so they could at least pretend they weren’t talking about her.  Din kept a neutral expression as she approached but Peli gave her a glare that could’ve bored through solid metal.  Cara ignored it.  “We need to resupply.  And the ship needs a look over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going to take more than a look over to fix that,” sneered Peli.  “And how are you planning on paying for this, hunter?  And what makes you think I’ll do a damn thing for you anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara kept her voice carefully even.  “Because I got your son out of the Imp’s clutches and I’m planning to keep us both far away from them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peli rounded on Din.  “You were </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious</span>
  </em>
  <span> about staying with her?!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Din.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were thinking about it,” said Din, glancing between her and Cara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>decided</span>
  </em>
  <span> on it,” said Cara through gritted teeth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We discussed it,” snapped Din.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara resisted the urge to roll her eyes.  “Are you going to fix my ship or not?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peli didn’t say anything, just glared.  Cara finally pulled credits out of a pouch and handed them over, and only then did Peli scoop up the kid.  “Come on, Bright Eyes.  Let’s see what we can do.  Din, come help me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In a minute,” said Din over his shoulder as Peli walked away before turning back to Cara.  “We need to talk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“About what?  The fact that I’m this close to telling your lovely mother that you were being tortured and see how she feels about me saving your ass then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you say a word,” hissed Din.  “Why are you so intent on moving?  We should just stay here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Imps are gonna come here first!  They know your mom is here and they’re not stupid, they know you’d come here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, and that’s why we should stay!  The Hutt guards I hired would’ve gone once they heard I got caught.  There’s no one to protect her now.  And Tatooine is enough of a backwater to hide out, like you wanted.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mos Eisley is a big hub!  Anyone in this area sees us, it’ll be all over the sector,” Cara said, annoyed.  “This is a terrible place to hide.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s easier to blend in a crowd.  Your piece of shit ship is gonna stick out like a sore thumb in any wilderness or whatever you’re trying to find,” returned Din.  “This is a better place to hide and blend in, I have contacts who owe me favors here, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> we can keep our ears to the ground and get a heads up if anyone comes after us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, a two second heads up before they barge into this hangar intent on bringing us in.  Bringing your mother into it then, I might add.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop talking about my mother!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell her not to split my skull apart and maybe I will!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t expect you to understand, all you got is yourself,” snapped Din, glaring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara meant to say something witty and biting, but it got lost in her throat, tangled with the words mother and brother and father, grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Din noticed, he didn’t say anything.  “Just go resupply.  No one will care about one more person wandering the market and your face probably hasn’t been programmed onto the wanted bulletins this soon.  I’m staying here and helping Momma repair your junk ship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara watched him turn and go, already smiling again as he rejoined his mother and his kid.  The two of them smiled back, greeting him, Peli hugging him just because before handing him her tool box, the three chattering cheerfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara turned away and went into town.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The market was bustling and busy but Cara still kept her head down.  Contrary to whatever Din thought, she knew how to blend in a crowd.  The numerous faces of every color, size, shape, and species still made her nervous.  Even someone with no combat skills could still make a pretty penny selling information on her location to a hunter who did have those skills.  And while Din and the kid were wanted alive, Cara highly doubted the Empire cared how she was brought in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unless they knew she was a former Rebel shocktrooper potentially full of valuable information.  Then… well, she should just hope she was wanted dead.  Even if she was brought in alive that would be her ultimate fate anyway.  Another Alderaanian to add to the tally.  Just like her mother and father and brother, and every other family member she used to have.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara decided she was way too sober for this shit, though she made herself wait until after she waded through market stalls and shops, negotiating and intimidating various vendors into giving her the necessities she needed for the least amount of credits she could get away with.  It took way longer than she liked, but credits were low and only going to get lower now that she couldn’t guarantee herself regular work, and if she had to spend fifteen extra minutes bullying the preserved food vendor to cut the price down to almost half she was going to do it.  But finally, after the better part of a few hours, she dragged her weary feet into the first cantina she saw and plopped her ass down at the bar and told the droid “Give me whatever the local favorite is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The droid silently produced a tall glass of some red liquid.  Cara tossed it down and it burned good enough; this stuff would definitely fog her brain sufficiently.  “Two bottles.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Better slow down there,” said a new voice, as a young man sidled up to her.  “Not smart for a lady alone to be intoxicating herself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara looked him up and down.  Some ugly little punk with more balls than brains who thought his snappy outfit made him immune to getting his spine broken in half, from the look and sound of him.  “Fuck off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All right, all right,” he said, throwing up his hands.  “I was kidding anyway.  You look like you can handle yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t move away, so Cara only spared him her nastiest glare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You look like a hunter, in fact,” said the brat.  “Maybe even Guild.  I’m Toro Calican.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh good, you speak Basic.  I wasn’t sure since you didn’t seem to understand the phrase ‘fuck off,’” Cara snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m real good with my tongue,” said Toro, grinning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m real good with my fists,” Cara snarled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can tell.  Seriously.  You look like a real big time hunter.”  Toro kept grinning that stupid grin.  “I’ve been wanting to take on a big job… heard about Din Djarin?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara took a long pull out of her glass to give herself a chance to plan a response.  “Save it.  He’s out of your league.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll let you have most of the money.  The Guild won’t let me in unless I do a big job for them.  Din Djarin or Fennec Shand or someone like that.  That’s what I want, and you can keep, say, ninety percent.  I just need help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to pick another job,” Cara said bluntly.  “I tried to bring him in and he kicked my ass, and you’re right, I’m damn good at what I do.  He’d kill someone like you without even blinking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But with the two of us -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Save it, kid.”  Cara drained her glass and swiped up her two bottles.  “If you want in the Guild, do a couple grunt jobs, prove you’re capable, and then start petitioning for real membership.  They like results.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least look at the bounty board with me, it’s just outside!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like I said when we first met:  fuck off.”  Cara walked away without giving the brat a backwards glance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her things were weighing heavily on her and the bottles were sloshing invitingly.  All she wanted was to get back to her ship, lock herself inside, and have another drink to put her to sleep.  Dusk had fallen, only one sun still barely peeking above the horizon, and the stars were starting to twinkle.  It’d been hours since she left the hangar and she was suddenly so tired of being out and about.  Tired of standing, tired of being wary, tired of thinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was so tired she reacted a second slower than usually did when a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her into an alley, her punch going wide as Din ducked but didn’t let go of her.  “What -” she started, but he pressed a finger to her mouth and whispered, “We have to get back to the hangar right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you think I was doing?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have to go the back way.  It’s not safe to be wandering in the open,” he said, brown eyes wide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one who insisted it was easier to blend in a crowd,” Cara hissed.  “Now what are you -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They updated the bounty!  It’s not just me and an ‘Imperial asset,’ they have my face, yours, and the kid’s posted now and it’s been </span>
  <em>
    <span>doubled.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Two million for the three of us, alive!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, fuck.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  But still:  “What, do you think I’m incompetent enough to get ambushed?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just grabbed you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara shoved him off her.  “Dumb luck, you stupid sheyruu.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just come on before either of us get spotted,” Din hissed anxiously, glancing out at the street, but no one seemed to be looking at them.  He then looked down on the bottle in her hand.  “Were you even getting supplies or were you wasting time in a cantina?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of your damn business!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes it is, we’re still stuck together for now!” Din snapped.  “You wandering around wasting your time getting drunk could endanger my mom or the kid!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t you be running home to mommy by now anyway?” Cara sneered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had to get your stupid ass.  And I certainly didn’t want to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can walk home without an escort,” said Cara mutinously, shoving him back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din glared at her.  “I know the paths and back alleys we can take so we don’t get caught.  Just come on.  The longer we stand here arguing, the more likely someone will see and try to snatch us - though if they just go after you, I might let them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Save your comments for someone who actually gives a shit.  Let’s go,” said Cara, taking a swig from the bottle as soon as Din’s back was turned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She followed him through town, winding between buildings and through back alleys.  They doubled back several times, Din jumping at anyone in the road possibly seeing them.  Cara rolled her eyes but put up with his overabundance of caution.  She was still relying on him and his mother to fix her ship, she reminded herself.  She had to play nice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, after way too long wandering through deserted dusty paths, they returned to Peli’s hangar.  Cara was ready to dump her stuff and go sleep, but Din threw out an arm and stopped her, pointing at the door lock - already blasted.  Someone had beat them there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din pulled out his blaster and started forward, but Cara yanked him to a halt by his collar.  “Get off!” he hissed, rounding on her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t just charge in -”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My mom and my kid are in there!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara set down her supplies behind a pile of abandoned junk, praying they wouldn’t be found, and pulled out her own blaster.  “You’ll just get killed if you charge in alone.  Together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din nodded, tense, and led the way through the entryway and into the hangar.  Cara covered him, blaster raised as they entered.  Her ship was still there, but otherwise the hangar was still and dark, with no sign of its occupants.  Even the pit droids were gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Momma?” Din called.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a shuffle of footsteps in the dirt from behind the ship.  Cara and Din both turned their blasters in time to see Toro Calican, holding both Peli and the kid with a blaster aimed at them.  “Guess I didn’t need your help to find this bounty after all,” Toro sneered at Cara.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let them go!” Din said, raising his blaster at Toro.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh I don’t think so.  Drop ’em.  Or I’ll blast the old lady,” said Toro, jabbing his gun at Peli for emphasis.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara glanced at Din.  She wanted to just try and shoot Toro, but this was his mother and he had the right to make the call.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s not part of the bounty.  Let her go,” said Din.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Put your weapon down and your hands up and I’ll think about it,” said Toro.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Din, don’t,” pleaded Peli, but he was already setting his blaster on the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You too, pretty girl,” said Toro, gesturing at her with his own blaster.  Cara ground her teeth but set her blaster down, watching him.  He was careless with his weapon, waving it, and while Peli was holding still and being compliant, the kid was fussing and wiggling, throwing Toro off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hands up,” said Toro, pointing his blaster back at them again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stood and complied, glancing to the side to see Din doing the same.  He looked back at her, a steely look in his eye.  There was a glint in his hand and Cara saw the tip of a vibroknife poking out of his sleeve.  She knew how well he could use it; he could certainly take Toro down, as long as he had an opening to do so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go and cuff the girl,” Toro told Peli, jabbing her with the blaster.  Peli took the cuffs from Toro’s belt and started walking forward, glancing fearfully at Din.  But Cara watched Toro.  He couldn’t decide whether to aim at her or Peli; he kept wavering.  She stared, grinning a little and shifting on her feet, drawing his gaze, making him lock eyes on her and not Din.  She just needed him to stay focused on her.  Just for a little bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So much for being a big time hunter,” taunted Toro.  “I sure caught you easy enough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t count your thrantas yet,” said Cara as Peli passed in front of her, and when the blaster wavered to stay focused on her head, Cara charged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t bother to look if Peli was safe or if Din was taking his opportunity.  All her focus was on Toro, savoring the look of fear in his eyes as he stumbled back, his shots going wide.  She was almost to him - she was going to rip that smug little face right off his skull -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a red flash and white-hot pain ripped through her belly, and she slammed straight into the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara tried to groan or spit dirt out of her mouth but her body wasn’t doing anything she wanted it to now.  She blinked sluggishly, everything blurred, barely able to focus on the red shape that raced towards Toro, a flash of silver and a splash of crimson.  She blinked again and they were gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a lot of commotion but she couldn’t really bring herself to care, even when something pushed her over on her back.  She looked up at the stars.  There were some places you could still see Alderaan, far enough away where its light hadn’t yet winked out.  Some of the others in the Rebellion had liked that, seeing it as a sign of hope.  She never had.  She had preferred the hard truth to the easy lie in those days.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And right now there was no escaping the hard truth.  What was one more dead Alderaanian?  The galaxy was full of them.  What point was there to continuing, anyway?  It wasn’t like she was much for any Alderaanian to be proud of.</span>
  <em>
    <span>  Soldiers are a part of Alderaan’s past, Cara,</span>
  </em>
  <span> her mother had said, and her father had always said,</span>
  <em>
    <span> This is a place of peace and beauty, not violence.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Yet she’d been a soldier, a mercenary, and now a hunter; she’d fought and she’d killed, everything her parents would be ashamed of.  What would they even think of her if they were alive now?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She still missed them so much.  She just wanted to see them again… would that really be so bad?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She blinked, but all she saw was a green face and huge brown eyes.  The kid tilted his head, chirring softly, and patted her face with one of his tiny hands.  Cara closed her eyes.  There were worse people than Din and the kid to take her ship, after all.  They could make use of it, keep running, evade the Empire.  At least getting them out would be one thing she didn’t do in vain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was pressure on her stomach, a strange terrible pulling feeling, as if her insides were being rearranged, and when she managed to look up she saw the kid sitting on her belly, hand pressed to the wound in her gut, and watched as it sealed itself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara stared in shock, barely sitting up in time to catch the kid as he fainted and tumbled down her side.  She pulled him close, cradling him in his arms.  He was sleeping, his face peaceful and innocent, as if he hadn’t just pulled her back from the brink of death.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“By the stars,” breathed Peli; Cara finally looked up to see her and Din crouched beside her, a half-opened medpac in Peli’s hands and Din’s covered in blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He healed me like that too,” said Din.  “My leg was like it’d never been injured.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I knew you were cheating to stay ahead of me,” Cara managed to say.  She didn’t feel like she was dying anymore but still strange, off, drained - though probably not as much as the little one in her arms.  She looked down and saw him still breathing, soft baby snores, perfectly unperturbed.  After all she’d done, he still saved her life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly holding him was too much responsibility.  “Here,” she said, holding him out to Din, who took him and looked him over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he okay?” asked Peli anxiously, peering down at the baby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he should just sleep for a while,” said Din, but he kept touching his face and rubbing his hand with a concerned look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peli’s face fell further and further as she glanced between her son and the kid, before finally saying, “You can’t stay here, Din.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know.”  Din sighed heavily.  “They’ll only keep coming.  You’ll be safer with us away.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll be safer away too,” Peli says.  “Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself.”  She stood reluctantly, brushing dirt off her pants.  “You better pack up, quickly.  If he saw you two on the bounty boards others will too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Cara agreed.  “We should go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din glanced down at her, then nodded.  “Let’s get the supplies.”  He offered her a hand, and Cara took it to stand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was a little wobbly but refused to let it slow her down, going outside to haul in the supplies she’d bought.  Luckily no one had found the hastily hidden goods, and she brought them in and loaded them up quickly enough.  Peli was scurrying around, pressing things into Din’s hands and insisting he take them too, Din obediently carrying them into the ship one-handed while holding the sleeping child with the other.  The pit droids came out of wherever they were hiding to drag Toro’s corpse away.  Soon there was nothing left of him but a trail of red in the dirt that Peli kicked sand over, and then that was gone too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara finished loading the ship and fired it up, looking it over.  Most of the warning lights were quiet now and the racket of protest it usually made when woken up was much quieter.  At least Peli and Din had done their job.  She jumped down the ladder to tell them it was time to go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peli and Din were hugging at the base of the ramp.  “Are you sure you have to go with her?” Peli asked, so quietly Cara almost didn’t hear it.  “I don’t like it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s safer to stay together.  She wants to make sure we don’t tattle where she is, and I want more than just me to protect the kid.”  Din glanced down at the child.  “I guess he approves of her enough if he healed her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peli took his face in her hands and pulled him down enough to kiss his head.  “Promise me you’ll be safe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hugged her one-armed, not letting the kid get squeezed.  “I promise, Momma.  I’ll call when I can manage it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara waited until they were done before approaching.  “Ship’s ready.  We should go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Din nodded, and walked up the ramp, passing her and going up to the cockpit.  Cara turned to follow, but stopped when she heard Peli say, “Hey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara turned, wondering if the mechanic wanted more money for repairs and leaning back a bit when Peli jabbed a wrench at her face.  “You turn them in again and I swear, hunter, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>swear</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’ll find you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cara guessed she really couldn’t blame the woman.  So she just nodded before closing the ramp, climbing into the pilot’s seat, and taking the Razor Crest out to the stars and away from Tatooine.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Reading Caradin fic:  Haha they're so dumb I love it<br/>Writing Caradin fic:  CAN YOU TWO MORONS PLEASE COOPERATE FOR FIVE MINUTES</p>
<p>Big thanks to everyone for being patient I know I'm slow af on this fic, sorryyyyyy.  Your lovely comments ease my anxiety about it. &lt;3</p>
<p>Baby Yoda's Commentary:<br/>Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. Dad. DAD oh good you're awake.<br/>Adults arguing?  Time for B A L L<br/>Yes there is a line and I'm next so don't even try cutting!<br/>Time to be spoiled by Grandma :)  I love this<br/>Who are you, dude in black OH NO<br/>Okay, Hunter Lady.  I'm giving you a chance. Do NOT blow this!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They're stuck together for now.  But that doesn't mean they've figured out how to get along yet.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Normally I don't really comment on actor stuff but since this is a Cara-centric fic:</p><p>If you follow my Tumblr you already know <a href="https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/tagged/gina%20carano">my opinion on the situation with Gina Carano</a>.  As far as Cara goes?  I refuse to lose Cara because of Carano's poor choices.  I REFUSE.  Carano made the poor decisions so why should us Cara Dune fans have to give up Cara?  Since I doubt we'll have any more Cara in the show now, I'm more determined than ever to write her the backstory and character development elements I wanted explored.</p><p>tl;dr I don't intend to stop making Cara Dune content because of what her actress did.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Now where are we going?”</p><p>Cara ground her teeth.  That question was getting annoying.  “Take a wild guess.”</p><p>“We can’t just do random jumps to shake people off our trail forever,” said Din from the back seat he’d claimed as his own, the green child happily cooing in his lap.  “We’re using up a ton of fuel, especially since I need access to the outside again to finish welding that crack in the hull to stop the leak.  Momma and I didn’t get to it before we had to leave.”</p><p>“I know, you said already,” Cara said.  But it was true, they were wasting fuel, there was no sign of anyone on their trail, and it was finally time to confront the fact that she and her unlikely passengers needed a place to lay low and stay for a time.  But it was hard to browse planets with someone hovering over her shoulder constantly.</p><p>She jerked as she sensed movement and speak of the Devaronian, he was doing it again.  “There,” Din said, pointing to her screen.  “Tios V.  It’s got a couple moons, just agricultural settlements, sparsely populated.”</p><p>“I decide where we land,” snapped Cara, but bringing up the readouts showed that he was right.  Five moons, with barely enough people to fill a space cruiser even when combined.</p><p>“Told you,” said Din.</p><p>“Don’t you have something around here to fix?” Cara asked.</p><p>“In this piece of junk?  There’s always something,” returned Din, but he finally went below.</p><p>Cara rolled her eyes; his nonstop complaining about the ship wasn’t something she enjoyed either.  But she pushed her irritation aside to focus on plotting a course to Tios V, angling for the fifth moon.  It was the largest and the population should be more spread out.</p><p>It was only when she went to pull the lever that she noticed her shifter knob had been stolen.  “Hey,” she said the green child, who showed zero remorse as he cradled his prize in his hands.  “I need that.”</p><p>He ignored her, rolling it between his tiny palms.  He’d slept for two days after he healed her, but once he’d woken back up and devoured several ration bars, he was back to his active self, busying himself with exploring the ship and trying once again to seize the knob he was so fascinated by.</p><p>Cara had ignored him the last few times he seized it until Din put it back but right now she had to have it.  “Hand it over, kid.”</p><p>His ears perked a little at the last word, and he finally offered her the knob.  Cara took it, replaced it, and sent them into hyperspace.  The kid pointed out at the blue starlines and chirped excitedly.</p><p>“Yeah, sure,” said Cara.  She had no idea what he was trying to say but he liked when she responded, and unlike Din didn’t make stupid remarks all the time.  “Watch the helm, will you?  I’m taking a nap.”</p><p>The kid squeaked again, plopping down on the dashboard, and Cara settled back into her pilot’s chair.  As soon as her eyes closed the bad thoughts and the shadows of nightmares returned, but with the kid chattering to himself she shoved them away enough to fall into sleep.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>It was a loud clang that jerked Cara out of sleep, and not the alarm from the console that meant they were approaching their exit point from hyperspace.  “What the hell?!”</p><p>There was nothing but a grunt, so Cara whipped around and found Din lying on the floor, head under the side console and shirt riding up enough to expose lean muscle and smooth skin.  “What are you doing?”</p><p>“Fixing your crappy ship,” he said from under the console.  “When was the last time you cleaned back here?”</p><p>“Whoever owned the ship last would have to answer that question.”</p><p>He actually poked his head out from under the console at that, looking incredulous or as much as he could with a smear of grease across his nose.  “Tell me you’re kidding.  No wonder this piece of junk is two seconds from falling out of the sky.”</p><p>“It’s fine,” snapped Cara.</p><p>“I should’ve just waited you out a little longer and it probably would’ve exploded and taken you with it,” returned Din, going back under the console.  His shirt rode up higher with the movement.</p><p>The hyperspace alarm went off then, and Cara wasn’t staring anyway, so she returned to the controls.  The kid had stolen the knob again but Cara took it back and screwed it on to bring the ship back out of hyperspace, the gas giant Tios V looming ahead, its five moons camouflaged among its smoky green and brown bands.  Cara still located the moons easily enough, hugging just above Tios V’s thin asteroid ring to safely guide the ship to the fifth moon.  She skirted between farming settlements, finally located a long stretch of plains where she landed the ship among the thin yellow grass waving in the light breeze.</p><p>“Power it down completely,” said Din without looking up from the toolbox.  “I want to look at the engine too.”</p><p>“Maybe we should decide where we’re going first.  In case we have to run suddenly.”</p><p>“Oh, <em> we’ll </em> decide?  Or <em> you’ll </em> decide?” Din said, finally looking up.</p><p>“It is my ship,” Cara said, trying to keep her voice even.  “And you’re only here because I rescued you, I might remind you.”</p><p>“And I only had to be rescued because you turned me in,” Din returned.  “Don’t even try and lord that over me.”  He stood.  “Keep an eye on the kid.  I don’t want him getting underfoot while I do some of the wirework; it’s delicate.”</p><p>Cara really wanted to point out that this was her ship and he had no right to be bossing her around, but she also needed the <em> Crest </em> fixed, so she just said “Fine” and glared at Din until he got out of her cockpit.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t want to sit and let the kid tear up her cockpit, so after a bit she ended up taking him outside and following him around.  At first he just wanted to see Din, chattering at him and trying to get his attention, and for all his earlier words, Din indulged every chirp and squeak with a response.</p><p>Cara finally encouraged the kid to chase a stray dragonfly and trailed after him, bored and restless.  They should be on the move, every instinct said.  She’d always been on the move, ever since Alderaan.  Rebel base to Rebel base, mission to mission, job to job, planet to planet.  The idea of settling made her skin crawl.  It seemed like an easy way to get caught and went against her every instinct.  But Din was right about fuel.  They needed to use their funds more sparingly and constantly planet-hopping would drain them faster.</p><p>She needed to be choosing a planet for them, though.  Not chasing after the kid.</p><p>Finally she took the kid back inside and to the cockpit so she could try and work, handing over the knob to the kid so he could amuse himself while she searched the Outer Rim for ideal candidates.  It worked for about five minutes.  Then the kid was clawing at her boot, poking at buttons, chirping for attention, and even trying to run away.  Only after a chase through the ship and two ration bars did he settle enough for Cara to put him in the bunk, and even then, his eyes blinking sleepily, he still refused to just lay down and go to sleep.  Cara ended up just reading through her blaster pistol’s operating manual until he closed his eyes and started making tiny baby snores, only then shutting the bunk and heading back up to the cockpit with a sigh of relief.</p><p>The ship was still powered down so instead of the navicomputer Cara just turned to her datapad, looking through Outer Rim sectors for likely candidates.  Mnad’el was wide expanses of desert but still about as populated as Tatooine, and they’d already been there besides.  People might recognize and remember.  Rishi was a pirate hive, far too dangerous if they got spotted.  Dantooine, maybe?  It was supposed to be sparsely populated, an agricultural planet.  So was Ushrul.  Khrkcha was a sprawling city-planet, but much as Cara disliked landing on green places, she still wanted them to stay somewhere relatively empty while still having a city in reach to give them options and a place to resupply.  She flipped through more planets, more regions, noting down any likely candidates.  Irild had a colder climate but little activity, Jzar only had three actual cities, and Sorgan didn’t even have a spaceport to speak of.</p><p>Cara found these three the best, and started to ponder pros and cons before remembering Din’s bitching about not having a say.  She sighed.  She supposed she should at least let him air his opinion.  So after checking to make sure the kid was still asleep, she went outside to find him.</p><p>She stepped outside, looking out across the waving grass.  At least it was flat, no beautiful snowy mountains to remind her of home.  She walked along the ship, looking around.  “Hey.  Schutta.  Din,” she called.  Where had the idiot gone?</p><p>“Cara,” replied his voice.  She looked up, and there he was on top of the ship, hair tousled by the wind, that smear of grease still across his nose, and his middle finger raised in a rude gesture in her direction.</p><p>Cara returned it.  “Get down.  I found some planets we could hide out on.”</p><p>“Oh?  I get a say this time?  How magnanimous of you.”</p><p>“I’m rethinking it,” growled Cara.</p><p>She watched Din navigate down the side of the ship, half-hoping he would land badly and break his leg, but he landed smoothly and easily before sauntering up to her with a maddening amount of confidence.  “What’d you find?”</p><p>She handed him her datapad.  “Three options that look good for a longer stay.  Sorgan, Jzar, and Irild.”</p><p>Din looked them over, frowning.  “Irild has a colder climate.  Do you even have winter gear for a long-term stay?”</p><p>She did, once.  As a child the whole family had gone on vacation to the mountains at least once a year, for skiing and snowboarding and snowball fights.  But all she could picture anymore was fire.  “Not enough for all of us,” said Cara when she wrenched herself out of her memories.  “But I imagine they’d have stuff for sale.”</p><p>“Yeah, and then we’d have our faces shown to everyone in whatever markets they have, and have to spend the credits.  Doesn’t seem like a good choice.”</p><p>“Fine,” said Cara, not wanting to admit she’d had the same thoughts.  Or any other reasons for not wanting to visit a snowy planet.  “So Jzar or Sorgan.”</p><p>“I’ve heard of Jzar.  It’s still got a couple cities and is more of a trade port.  I’ve barely heard of Sorgan before, so I bet any pursuers haven’t either,” said Din.  “So I’d say Sorgan.”</p><p>“Yeah, if we want to get stranded in the wild.  The Imps will track us down either place sooner or later.  With Jzar we still have the option of melting into the cities if need be.”</p><p>“Yeah, and the option of being seen easier,” Din said.  He studied the two planets, flipping between them on the datapad, a furrow appearing in his brow under the stray curls blowing in the wind.  “Jzar has a much higher population,” he said.  “Sorgan is a total skughole.”</p><p>“Perfect for skugs, then,” Cara said before she thought better of it.</p><p>“You’ll fit right in,” Din shot back.</p><p>“I’m surprised you haven’t already been.  Since finding the shittiest places in the galaxy was your only chance to stay away from me.”</p><p>“It certainly worked,” Din said, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>Cara folded her arms across her chest, bristling.  “The only reason you evaded me for so long is because you were cheating with your magic baby.”</p><p>“I wasn’t cheating!  I kicked your ass on Mnad’el.  On my own,” Din snarled, his hands clenching into fists.</p><p>“It was the kid then too!  I had a perfect shot lined up to take you down and he hit me with his powers!” Cara snapped back.  “You would’ve been turned in long ago without him.”</p><p>“I know how to fight.  Better than you, probably.  You didn’t even catch me until you poisoned me so bad I could barely walk!”</p><p>“I only did that because you were using the kid!  Every time I had you, he saved you!  Like that time Varrin almost had you, I’d shot you in the leg and if you hadn’t stolen Varrin’s ship I -”</p><p>Cara glanced down at her middle.  It was like there had never been any wound there at all.  And what had Din said, while she’d still been lying on the floor, staring at the nonexistent injury?</p><p>“The kid was healing you,” she said out loud.  “The whole time.  That’s why nothing I did ever stuck.”</p><p>“The poison did,” said Din dryly.</p><p>“You <em> were </em> cheating!” Cara hissed. “The whole time!  The kid was healing you; he was the <em> only </em> reason catching you took so damn long!”</p><p><em> “I </em> was the reason.  I had to keep him away from you!”</p><p>“You’re a stupid mechanic!  What do you know about fighting?” Cara snarled viciously.  It was unfair; she knew he could fight, damn well too.  But he was aggravating, and she wanted to return the favor no matter how bad an idea it was.</p><p>“I was trained by Mandalorians!  I’ve probably been fighting longer than you have!” Din snapped back, his brown eyes narrowed in fury.</p><p>“I’ve fought a Mandalorian to a standstill,” Cara bragged, remembering her sparring sessions with Paz.  Din didn’t need to know that any standstill was hard-won and not frequent.  “Face it, you got lucky because a magic kid likes you enough to babysit you.  Without the kid, you’d be toast.”</p><p>“You want me kick your ass again?  Because I can.  Without the kid,” Din snarled furiously.  He was stock-still, primed for a fight.  It was a perfectly tempting prospect.  Cara could already envision her fist smashing that grease-stained nose in.</p><p>Cara shrugged out of her jacket.  “Fine.  No kid, no weapons, just fists.  Winner chooses the planet we stay on.”</p><p>“Fine.”  Din pulled off his scarf and overtunic and threw them to the ground, easing into a fighting stance.  “Say when.  I’m ready.”</p><p>“When,” said Cara, and she lunged for him.</p><p>He was sly and quick and she knew it, so her first move for his face was a feint and when he dropped low to duck her blow she slammed her knee up instead, barely missing his nose.  Din twisted away at the last second, swiping up at face and clipping her jaw, smirking.</p><p>He might’ve gotten the first hit but Cara was going to wipe that smug look off his face if she did nothing else.  She kicked him again, hard, savoring his look of surprise as his footing went out from under him.  She lunged after him, grabbing his shoulders to drive him into the ground, only to feel his foot in her gut and watch the world spin as he flipped her like he had in their first fight.<em>   Not again! </em></p><p>But this time she slid aside to avoid his fist, grabbing his throat and hurling him to the side, getting up just in time to lean back from his vengeful kick and take a step back to regain some control of the fight; he did the same, panting hard and glaring at her fiercely.</p><p>This time Cara waited for him to move first, and since he was clearly as riled up and impatient as she was, she didn’t have to wait.  Cara caught his hit, using his own momentum to twist him around and slam the back of his head, hard, with her elbow and earning a very satisfying yelp.  But he recovered quickly, turning to kick at her stomach again and Cara barely blocked him, failing in her attempts to knock him back and off his balance.  He only staggered when she finally feinted low and instead hit high, finally landing that wonderful punch right in his face.</p><p>Cara had barely let out a “Ha!” of triumph before he slammed the side of her head with his fist, hard as steel, making her see stars.  Before she could recover her feet were swiped right out from under her; she groped blindly and at least pulled him down with her, scrabbling to keep a hold on him as he tried to roll away.  Both his legs locked around her throat and squeezed.</p><p>Oh hell no, she was <em> not </em>losing, and especially not losing with her head between his thighs.  She tried to throw him off but couldn’t get the leverage, so instead she punched up right above her head.</p><p>He howled as she made contact with his groin, his hold breaking immediately.  Cara sat up and threw herself on him, refusing to lose her advantage, scrabbling to lock her hands around his throat.  He resisted, snarling, blocking her grip and trying to kick her back off him.  Cara tried to knee him in the groin, but went high, and the shift in weight allowed Din to flip her over, settling on top of her and pressing his arm to her throat.  “I win.  Admit it.”</p><p>“Nope,” she hissed, and jabbed him in the ribs as hard as she could.</p><p>He tried to hold firm but he shifted enough that she could roll over, snatching his wrists and pinning them above his head, locking her legs around him and leaning forward to use her weight to keep him down.  <em> “I </em> win.”</p><p>Din practically growled and tried to buck her off, but she held firm even as his hips jolted against hers.  Suddenly she realized how close they were, how his face and his brown eyes were inches from her own, how much lean muscle was right between her thighs.</p><p>And then she was thrown off him with the force of a moving maglev train, slamming into the ground and sliding feet away, and her throat was <em> closing </em> and she clawed at it but she <em> couldn’t breathe - </em></p><p>“No!” Din shouted.  “No, stop, it - it wasn’t real!  We were - we were just play-fighting!  Just playing!  <em> It wasn’t real!” </em></p><p>Whatever invisible vise had Cara’s throat released and air rushed back into her lungs.  She gasped, grabbing at her throat, but she couldn’t feel anything wrong with it.  She sat up, and saw Din by the ship’s ramp, holding the child.  As soon as he saw her sit up he rushed over, kneeling beside her.  “Are you all right?”</p><p>Cara’s mouth worked but nothing came out, just gasps as she caught her breath.  She couldn’t stop staring at the tiny, innocent child in Din’s arms, now glaring at her suspiciously.  “He… he did that to me?”</p><p>Din pulled the child close.  “He got scared… he doesn’t understand.”</p><p>Cara rubbed her throat, unable to tear her eyes away from the child, who was still watching her warily.  He looked so small, so innocent.  He’d healed her, saved her life… and he could have taken it away just as easily.  “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, reaching out to touch the child’s hand.  “We were just play-fighting.  We didn’t mean to scare you.”</p><p>She glanced at Din but he didn’t contradict her words, just holding the child closer and rocking him a little.  The dark eyes half-closed, the child back to being content and sleepy, as if he hadn’t just nearly choked her to death.</p><p>Din was watching her, tense, but Cara shook her head.  “I know he didn’t understand.  I didn’t even know he could do that.”</p><p>“I didn’t either,” said Din, still rocking the child, who rolled over to grasp at his tunic, yawning.  “He’s never done that before.  Or hurt anyone like that.”</p><p>“Just pushed them away,” said Cara, recalling the sensation.  Of course, he’d walked out of the ship and seen her attacking Din; of course he shoved her away from his beloved caretaker like he had multiple times before.  But this time he hadn’t stopped with a magical push.  If Din hadn’t been able to get him to stop choking her…</p><p>“He didn’t understand,” repeated Din, holding the child close to his chest.  “He didn’t mean it.”</p><p>Cara looked him in the eye; no matter how much Din got under her skin, this deserved complete sincerity.  “I won’t hurt him.”</p><p>Din finally relaxed, rocking the child gently in his arms.  “Every time I think I have him figured out, he surprises me.”</p><p>Cara still had trouble reconciling that sweet, innocent face with the fact she’d nearly been killed.  “No wonder the Empire wants him,” she said, half to herself.  “He’d be the deadliest weapon in their arsenal.”</p><p>“He’s a child, not a weapon,” Din said sharply, clutching the child protectively.</p><p>“The Empire must’ve had him for a reason.”</p><p>“I don’t know!” said Din, frustrated, still clinging to the sleeping child like he’d disappear if Din let go.  “I - I just walked in and saw him in that cage, and he was so alone and afraid and just a child, and I couldn’t - I couldn’t leave him, I couldn’t.”</p><p>“The Empire certainly wanted him back real bad,” Cara said.  “I think we know what they wanted him for.  And you.”</p><p>Din looked up at her in surprise.  “Me?”</p><p>Cara rubbed her throat self-consciously.  “All they gotta do is throw you to whoever they want dead and let him go to town.”</p><p>Din looked down at the baby in his arms, rocking him more and unnecessarily adjusting the kid’s collar.  Cara remembered her father fussing over her and her brother’s jacket and her throat hurt, and not because of anything the kid had done.  She stood up rapidly.  “I won’t let that happen.”</p><p>Din looked up at her, surprise written across his face.</p><p>“I’m not gonna let the Empire get him.  Or you.”  Cara clenched her hands, feeling nails dig into her palms.  “I hate them.  I won’t let them get anything they want.  I’ll get both of you somewhere safe, and then we can part ways, and never have to worry about each other again.”</p><p>“You won’t turn us back in?” Din asked warily.</p><p>“I said I hate the Empire and I meant it.  You got caught because of me.  So I’ll put it right, get you off their radar again, and then we’re even.  Deal?”</p><p>She offered her hand.  Din stared for a moment, but finally stood and took it.  “Deal.”</p><p>Cara had to swallow her pride a little, but said, “Sorgan is good with me if it’s good for you.”</p><p>Din nodded.  “Best we stay away from populated areas as much as we can.  No one should see what he can do.”</p><p>“Then it’s settled.  We’ll go as soon as the ship is ready.”  Cara turned away and walked inside, not waiting for a response, heading straight up to the cockpit and pulling out one of the bottles she’d stashed there and taking a long pull before she thought too much about brown eyes or anything else.</p><p>The kid had saved her life.  She’d get him and his caretaker somewhere safe.  Any debt between them would be repaid, and hopefully her conscience would shut up again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy Valentine's Day from the Dumbass Duo.  Maybe next chapter they can go a few paragraphs without fighting!  Less arguing, more ogling, you two.</p><p>Btw if you're an Omera fan, I do NOT plan to have any Omera-bashing in this fic.  I don't ship Mandomera personally but Omera is an awesome character and I really like her.  (Cara may not like the hot widow eyeing the guy she definitely doesn't care about at all or think is cute, though.)</p><p>Edit:  HOW COULD I FORGET THE BABY YODA COMMENTARY??  Thank you for reminding me Wolfy22!<br/>"Y'all gotta stop arguing.  Whatever, at least I have my ball."<br/>"I don't wanna give up my ball :("<br/>"Uh, I guess I can watch the helm.  You're still too mean and a little scary for me to want to touch anything right now....but let me tell you, in the canon universe..."<br/>"Dad what are you doing can I help Dad can I see Dad can I do it with you Dad Dad Dad Dad Dad"<br/>"Play with me, Cara!  Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn"<br/>"This definitely isn't how Dad puts me to bed, but okay, I'll put up with it.  This time."<br/>"Where's Cara?  Where's Dad?  Are they outside - WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO DAD"<br/>"I TOLD YOU NOT TO BLOW THIS AFTER I SAVED YOUR LIFE, HOW DARE YOU"<br/>"Oh you were playing?  Sorry Dad I won't do it again :(  Can't say I understand grown-up play time, though."</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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